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TRIAL 


OP 


WILLIAM  BEALS  &  CHARLES  G.  GREENE, 

FOR  AN  ALLEGED  LIBEL,  PUBLISHED  THE 

...  J  *'  '  •.*  ■" 

BOSTON  MORHINd  POST, 


ON 

ALFRED  W.  PIKE, 

PRECEPTOR  OF  THE  TOPSFIELD  ACADEMY, 

AT  THE 

NOVEMBER  TERM  OF  THE  SUP.  J.  COURT,  AT  SALEM, 

BEFORE 

HIS  HONOR  JUDGE  PUTNAM. 


BY  THE  REPORTER  OF  THE  BOSTON  MORNING  POST. 


BOSTON : 

PRINTED  BY  BEALS  &  GREENE  : 


1835. 


9" 


TRIAL  FOR  LIBEL. 


ALFRED  W.  PIKE  versus  WILLIAM  BEALS  AND  CHARLES 
G.  GREENE— DAMAGES  LAID  AT  TEN  THOUSAND 
DOLLARS. 


Present. — Hon.  SAMUEL  PUTNAM,  Associate  Justice  of 
Supreme  Judicial  Court,  Presiding. 

Jury. — Andrew  Lunt,  Foreman  ;  Miles  F.  Griffin,  Amos 
Gould,  William  Hook,  Samuel  Ireson,  Samuel  Jenkins,  Jr., 
Daniel  Leach,  Jacob  Newhall,  Jr.,  Tl.omas  Payson,  Wells  Smith, 
Israel  Trask,  James  Whittier. 

Counsel. — Rufus  Choate  and  Asahel  Huntington,  Esqrs.,  for 
the  Plaintiff. 

Leverett  Saltonstall  and  George  Wheatland,  Esqrs.,  for  the 
Defendants. 


This  prosecution  grew  out  of  the  publication,  in  the  Boston 
Morning  Post,  of  the  following  communication,  on  the  2d  of 
May,  1835 

“BRUTAL  CRUELTY. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Boston  Mornnig  Post : 

Sir-h.  case  of  unparalleled  cruelty  has  come  under  my  observation, 
which  I  hope,  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  you  will  give  a  place  in  your 
paper.  A  child  8  years  old,  (Sarah  B.  Jay)  was  placed  under  the  care 
of  a  Mr  Pike,  schoolmaster,  and  member  of  Mr  Winslow’s  church,  with 
a  promise  on  his  part  to  bring  up  the  child  as  he  would  his  own.  Mr 
P.  removed  to  Topsfield,  Mass.,  last  autumn,  since  when  the  child  has 
suffered  the  utmost  cruelty — her  food  has  been  chiefly  Indian  meal 
and  water — she  has  been  compelled  to  sleep  on  straw,  in  an  upper 
room,  with  scarcely  covering  enough  to  keep  life  in  her — and  during 
the  last  rigorous  winter  exposed  so  as  to  freeze  her  feet  and  hands 
badly.  Finally,  Mr  P.  sent  word  to  her  mother  that  he  had  put  her  in 
the  Alms  House,  where  she  was  very  comfortable  and  could  remain  if 
her  mother  chose.  ^But  her  mother,  feeling  indignant  at  such  conduct, 


4 


desired  Mr  P.  to  send  her  daughter  home.  He  complied  with  the  re¬ 
quest,  and  she  arrived  at  her  mother’s,  a  day  or  two  since,  hungry, 
half  naked,  and  reduced  to  the  lowest  state  of  wretchedness.” 

About  a  week  subsequent  to  the  appearance  of  this  commu¬ 
nication,  the  following  certificate,  in  reply  to  it,  was  published 
in  the  Essex  Register,  from  which  it  was  copied  into  the  Post 
by  Mr  Greene,  who  subjoined  to  it  the  editorial  strictures  which 
accompany  it: — 

“  From  the  Essex  Register. 

“BRUTAL  CRUELTY.” 

Messrs  Editors — Having  seen  in  the  Boston  Morning  Post,  of  May  2d, 
1835,  an  anonymous  communication,  headed  “  Brutal  Cruelty,”  accusing 
MR  PIKE,  of  this  town,  in  several  particulars  in  re-pect  to  his  treatment  of 
a  young  girl,  Sarah  B.  Jay,  who  has  lived  in  his  family  during  the  last  five 
or  six  months,  and  who  has  been  recently  returned  to  her  mother  in  Boston. 
We  the  undersigned,  have  availed  ourselves  of  such  means,  as  we  consider 
sufficient  to  authorize  us  to  form  and  express  an  opinion  in  the  cage — and  ac¬ 
cordingly  certify  that  we  are  satisfied  that  there  has  been  no  cause  of  com¬ 
plaint  against  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pike,  in  respect  to  the  girl.  We  are  satisfied  that 
she  was  well  fed  and  clothed,  and  comfortably  provided  for  on  their  part.  Her 
sickly  appearance  and  diseased  feet,  we  consider  a'  necessary  consequence  of 
her  own  personal  condnct,  which  was,  for  more  than  two  months  previous  to 
her  being  placed  at  the  dispesal  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor  of  Topsfield, 
filthy  and  disgusting  in  a  degree  we  have  never  known  equalled.  And  there¬ 
fore,  we  view  the  communication  alluded  to  as  slanderous  in  the  extreme. 
We  have  the  fullest  confidence  in  the  kindness  and  attention  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Pike  to  all  under  their  care. 

N.  CLEAVELAND, 

JACOB  TOWNE, 

MOSES  WILDES, 

R  A.  MERRIAM, 

,  JAMES  F.  McEWEN, 

NATHANIEL  PERLEY, 
JEREMIAH  STONE. 

Topsfeld,  May  6,  18H5.” 

“  Sarah  B.  Jay  is  eight  years  of  age— Mr  Pike,  took  her  under  a 
promise  to  treat  her  with  as  much  kindness  as  he  would  one  of  his 
own  children.  Is  it  a  sufficent  excuse  for  the  present  condiMon  of  the 
child  that  she  was  unclean  in  her  habits,  or  froward  in  her  disposition, 
providing  such  are  the  facts?  It  certainly  was  the  duty  of  Mr  and  Mrs 
P.  to  enforce  a  degree  of  cleanliness  upon  her  sufficient  to  prevent  the 
breeding  of  disease  and  vermin,  or  else  return  her  to  her  parents,  and 
not  suffer  a  little  girl  eight  years  of  age  to  continue  in  a  state  of  filth 
which  has  destroyed  her  health  and  strength  for  life,  even  if  it  should 
be  continued  to  her,  which  is  extremely  doubtful.  Her  feet  have  been 
frozen — she  says  this  was  occasioned  by  a  want  of  bed  clothes  during 
the  severe  weather  last  winter;  but  Messrs  Cleaveland  &  Co.  consider 
the  operations  of  the  frost  “the  necessary  consequence  of  her  own  per¬ 
sonal  conduct.”  Messrs.  Cleaveland  &  Co.  are  satisfied  that  the  child 
was  t:  well  fed  and  clothed” — the  clothes  she  received  from  Mr  Pike, 


5 


during  six  months,  including  the  last  severe  winter,  consisted  of  one 
blue,  short-sleeved,  cotton  frock — an  old  knit  shawl, one  or  two  pairs 
of  Stockings,  and  a  second-handed  pair  of  shoes — thus  clothed  she  re¬ 
turned  to  her  parents,  during  one  of  the  coldest  days  of  the  present 
spring,  in  a  weak  and  exhausted  state,  from  the  alms  house,  where 
Mr  Pike  placed  her  ! — Is  this  the  kindness  he  would  show  to  his 
own  child  P — Is  this  “comfortable”  clothing  ?  Wonld  Mr  Cleaveland 
consider  it  so  for  his  own  child,  if  he  has  one  P — Certainly  not,  and  no 
man  of  common  sense  and  common  humanity  would  say  it  was — we 
are  unacquainted  with  Mr  Cleaveland  and  his  associates. 

The  above  “certificate”  does  not  relieve  Mr  Pike  in  the  least  fom  his 
responsibility  in  this  affair — the  child  is  an  object  of  suffering  wretch¬ 
edness — she  resides  in  Myrtle  street  and  can  be  seen  by  any  one — her 
parents  are  poor,  but  honest,  respectable,  industrious  people — we  know 
nothing  of  Mr  P.  more  than  we  have  heard  within  a  few  weeks,  and 
have  no  other  object  in  following  up  this  subject  than  to  expose,  what 
appears  to  us  to  be,  conduct  of  the  most  cruel  and  censurable  charac¬ 
ter.  We  understand  that  several  gentlemen  of  wealth  have  interested 
themselves  in  the  affair,  and  that  it  will  probably  undergo  a  Judicial 
investigation.” — Boston  Morning  Post,  May  14. 

It  will  be  observed,  that  in  the  preceding  editorial  comments, 
Mr.  Greene  reiterated,  generally,  the  charges  against  Mr.  Pike 
contained  in  the  Communication  of  May  2,  and  for  this  reason 
Mr.  Pike,  as  his  counsel  states,  brought  his  action  for  Libel.  The 
trial  commenced  at  Salem,  on  Monday,  November  23, 1835,  before 
the  Supreme  Judicial  Court. 

As  soon  as  the  Court  was  organized,  a  motion  was  made  by 
Mr.  Huntington,  that  permission  should  be  granted  to  take  the 
deposition  at  Topsfield,  of  Mrs  Martha  Williams,  aged  74, 
the  mother-in-law  of  Mr.  Pike,  who  made  an  affidavit,  that  she 
had  been  suddenly  taken  sick,  and  was  unable  to  attend  Court, 
This  application  was  resisted  by  Mr.  Saltonstall,  on  the  ground  that 
Mr.  Pike’s  affidavit  was  not  accompanied  by  the  certificate  of  a 
physician ;  that  she  was  a  very  material  witness,  and  that  it  would 
be  necessary  for  the  defendant’s  counsel  to  be  present  when  the 
deposition  was  taken,  and  would  occupy  a  whole  day ;  that  if  it  should 
appear,  by  a  certificate  that  she  was  too  sick  to  attend  at  the  present 
term,  it  would  be  a  sufficient  ground  for  a  continuance  to  another 
term.  The  court,  however,  was  inclined  to  think  that  the  deposi¬ 
tion  ought  to  be  taken,  and  appointed  Mr.  Williams,  of  Salem,  to 
take  it. 

Mr.  Huntington,  for  the  Plaintiff,  then  opened  the  case,  by  read¬ 
ing  the  writ,  consisting  of  two  counts,  reciting  at  length  the 
alleged  libellous  publications,  accompanied  by  the  usual  inuendoes, 
and  charges  of  malice,  wickedness  and  falsehood. 

The  defendants  pleaded  the  general  issue,  as  to  the  malice,  and 
filed  seven  pleas  in  justification,  alleging  in  technical  form,  that  the 


6 


statements  declared  on  as  libellous,  were  true,  and  adding  two 
other  matters,  not  alluded  to  in  the  publications — to  wit,  that  said 
Pike  compelled  the  said  Sarah  B.  Jay  to  eat  assafaetida  and  her 
own  excrement,  and  that  therefore  he  ought  not  maintain  his  action 
against  the  defendants. 

“  You  see,  gentlemen  of  the  jury,”  said  Mr.  Huntington,  “  from 
hearing  the  writ  read,  and  the  pleas  filed  in  answer,  and  also  by 
your  knowledge  of  the  character  of  both  parties  in  this  suit,  that 
this  is  a  case  of  no  usual  importance.  The  libels  contain  charges 
of  a  most  aggravated  character,  and  deeply  implicating  the  con¬ 
duct,  reputation  and  standing  of  the  plaintiff ;  and  the  defendants 
allege  in  their  pleadings  that  these  charges  are  true.  If  the  charges 
are  not  true,  then  do  they  constitute  one  of  the  most  atrocious 
libels  ever  published  ;  if  true,  then  ought  the  plaintiff  to  be  exclud¬ 
ed  from  the  society  of  men.  The  libel,  or  libels,  are  in  every  va¬ 
riety  of  words,  and  you  will  perceive  that  the  pleas  contain  other 
matters  not  in  the  libel. 

The  plaintiff  is  a  farmer’s  son — a  native  of  the  County  of  Essex, 
of  hitherto  unblemished  character — a  teacher  of  youth  for  up¬ 
wards  of  twenty  years ;  and  a  husband  and  the  father  of  a  large  and 
interesting  family.  Although  he  brings  the  action,  it  is  himself 
that  is  on  trial — he  is  now  to  be  tried  for  his  life — for  every  thing 
dear  and  valuable  in  life.  For  this  reason,  we  shall  feel  it  to  be 
our  duty  and  our  privilege,  in  answer  to  these  infamous  and  false 
charges,  which  we  regard  with  abhorrence,  to  put  in  his  general 
good  character,  because  he  owes  it  to  himself,  to  his  family,  and  to 
the  trustees  of  the  respectable  institution  over  which  he  is  appoint¬ 
ed.  We  shall  call  in  gentlemen  from  different  parts  of  the  coun¬ 
ty,  who  have  known  him  twenty  or  thirty  years,  to  prove  that  he 
is  a  most  moral,  honest,  and  just  man,  and  that  he  has  hitherto 
conducted  so  as  to  be  much  respected,  and  to  be  altogether  above 
suspicion.”  Mr.  Huntington  recapitulated  the  charges  contained 
in  the  first  communication,  and  continued. — “The  matter  would 
never  have  reached  this  tribunal,  gentlemen,  if  the  defendants  like 
just  and  honorable  men,  who  entertained  a  proper  regard  for  char 
acter,  had  paused,  or  published  the  certificate  without  any  unfair 
comments.  1  have  remarked,  gentlemen,  that  when  this  murder¬ 
ous  libel  was  published,  the  plaintiff  was  a  preceptor  of  the  Tops- 
field  Academy — it  was  a  dagger  to  himself,  to  his  wife,  and  to  his 
children.  The  article  was  read  far  and  wide — he  was  in  danger  of 
being  overwhelmed  at  once  with  the  universal  indignation  of  the 
public — he  was  struggling  for  life  ;  and  to  keep  his  head  up  it  became 
absolutely  necessary  to  do  something  immediately.  lie  could  not 
w.  it  the  tardy  operation  of  the  law,  and  he  procured  an  investiga 
tion  of  the  subject  on  the  spot,  and  if  the  defendants  had  simply 
published  the  reply  by  the  gentlemen  of  Topsfield,  that  Mr.  and 
Mrs  Pike  were  not  blameable  the  matter  would  have  rested  there. 
We  should  not  have  commenced  this  prosecution,  if  they  had  pub-1 


ished  the  reply  unaccompanied  by  false  and  malignant  comments— 
lisingenuous  and  unfair, 

In  these  commenls,  reiterating  and  enlarging  the  original 
;harge,  aggravating  it — dipping  his  pen  in  gall  in  every  line,  th 
lefendant  publishes  a  libel  in  every  particular  worse  than  the  ori¬ 
ginal  one.  There  is  malice  to  be  seen  in  every  line.  It  is  mani- 
est  that  Mr  Greene  meant  to  destroy  Mr.  Pike.  In  the  most 
iriful  and  ingenious  manner,  he  makes  Messrs.  Cleaveland  and 
Do.,  as  he  slightingly  calls  them,  say  that  the  freezing  of  the  child’s 
eet  was  a  necessary  consequence  of  her  own  neglect.  In  this 
vay,  he  gives  a  perfectly  unfair  answer,  and  takes  back  nothing; 
>ut  he  goes  on  and  argues  the  matter  in  a  most  jesuitical  manner, 
ind  concludes  by  saying  that  the  certificate  does  not  relieve  Mr. 
Pike  from  the  imputations  resting  on  him. 

With  regard  to  the  Indian  meal,  said  Mr.  Huntington,  I  know 
lot  whether  Mr.  Pike  be  a  Grahamiteor  not — he  looks  like  a  good 
iver  himself,  gentlemen  as  you  may  see;  but  whether  he  Le  a 
Irahnmite  or  Anti-Grahamite,  the  man  who  could  keep  a  child  on 
ndian  meal  and  water  five  mouths,  and  be  guilty  of  the  other  acts 
■harged  upon  Mr.  Pike,  must  be  a  brute  and  a  beast ;  and  if  the 
lefendants  come  within  a  thousand  miles  of  proving  the  truth  of 
hem,  I  shall  feel  it  to  be  my  duty,  as  a  public  officer,*  to  present 
lim  to  the  Grand  Jury,  friend  as  he  is  of  mine,  and  has  been,  for 
he  last  twenty  years. 

Mr  Huntington,  after  commenting  upon  “  the  injury  necessarily 
ene  to  the  plaintiff,  by  the  defendants  in  their  respectable  j^ur* 
lal,  by  circulating  the  libel  throughout  the  country,  stated  the  facts 
rhich  he  would  be  able  to  prove  in  refutation  of  the  charges 
nought  against  the  plaintiff  in  the  Post.  He  would  show,  he 
aid,  that  while  Mr  Pike  kept  a  private  school  in  Boston,  the 
nother  of  the  child,  representing  herself  to  be  a  very  poor  woman, 
ery  earnestly  entreated  Mrs.  Pike  to  take  the  child — that  her 
usband,  a  Mr.  Howard,  was  hostile  to  the  child,  and  that  her 
wing  at  home  created  great  disharmony  in  the  family, — that  the 
liild  was  fully  as  much  to  blame  as  Mr  Howard,  in  their  dornes- 
ic  dissensions ;  that  she  was  guilty  of  falsehood  and  obstinacy, 
n  this  way,  Mrs.  Howard  worked  on  Mrs.  Pike’s  feelings,  and 
■reposed  to  have  the  child  bound  to  her.  Mr  Pike  and  his  eldest 
aughter  was  very  much  opposed  to  taking  the  child  to  Topsfield, 
ut  Mrs  Pike,  being  interested  for  her  on  account  of  her  mother, 
revailed  on  Mr  Pike  to  take  her. 

After  she  went  to  Topsfield,  symptoms  of  scrofulous  humours 
aanifested  themselves  on  the  child’s  person,  in  consequence  of 
?hich  salts  were  administered  to  her,  and  afterwards  she  was  fur- 
lished  with  gruel,  and  this  (said  Mr  Huntington)  is  what  is  meant 

*  Mr.  Huntington  is  the  Commonwealth’s  Attorney,  for  the  District,  in  which 
Issex  County  is  included. 


8 


by  the  Indian  meal  and  water,  they  talk  about.  In  February,  Sarah, 
the  child,  became  unclean  in  her  personal  habits,  in  a  most  extra¬ 
ordinary  degree,  and  it  became  necessary  to  make  up  a  straw 
bed  for  her,  but  she  was  so  well  supplied  with  bed  clothing,  thai 
if  Mr  Pike  had  been  charged  with  having  attempted  to  smother 
her,  the  charge  would  have  come  much  nearer  the  truth,  than 
that  which  has  been  preferred  against  him  ;  and  so  far  from  hav¬ 
ing  an  insufficient  supply,  she  had  seven  thicknesses  of  covering. 
The  child,  however,  continued  in  its  offensive  habits,  and  to  such 
an  extent,  that  Mrs  Pike  was  made  sick  by  her  conduct,  and  told 
her  husband  that  she  could  not  live  in  the  house  with  her  any 
longer.  She  was  then  put  into  the  alms-house,  because  Mr  Pike 
did  not  know  that  Mrs  Howard  was  in  a  situation  to  receive  her  ; 
for  Mrs  Pike  remembered  her  mother’s  declaration,  that  her  clnl- 
dren  had  cried  themselves  to  sleep  for  want  of  bread,  and  she 
knew  that  Mrs  Howard  expected  to  be  confined.  He  expected 
to  show  also,  that  notice  was  sent  to  Mrs  Howard  when  her  child 
was  put  into  the  alms-house ;  he  would  also  show,  that  Sarah  had 
been  afflicted  with  chilblains  for  several  years;  that  the  morning 
she  left  Boston,  her  father  bought  her  a  box  of  ointment  for  her 
feet,  which  were  then  sore  with  chilblains;  that  at  Topsfield  she 
had  a  sufficient  supply  of  clothing,  and  wore  India  rubbers  on  ac¬ 
count  of  her  sore  feet,  and  that  when  Mr  and  Mrs  Pike  went  to 
the  alms-house  with  her,  she  was  comfortably  clad,  and  was  sent 
home  to  Boston  in  the  same  clothes ;  and  so  far  from  eating 
nothing  but  Indian  meal,  that  she  ate  more  animal  food  than  any 
other  member  of  Mr  Pike’s  family.  Mr  Huntington  closed  his 
opening  statement  by  some  remarks  upon  the  responsibility  in¬ 
curred  by  the  conductors  of  the  public  press  in  proceeding  to  re¬ 
dress  real  or  imaginary  private  wrongs,  without  due  deliberation 
and  careful  investigation,  and  compared  their  mode  of  operation, 
in  thus  putting  a  party  on  trial,  without  affording  him  an  opportu¬ 
nity  of  defending  himself,  to  the  summary  proceedings  of  Judge 
Lynch.  A  man,  denounced  by  the  press  was  in  fact  tried  and 
•xecuted,  before  he  could  possibly  obtain  a  hearing — a  species  o 
Lynchism,  he  was  sure,  that  was  not  yet  very  popular  in  this 
ancient  Commonwealth  of  Laws. 

The  Court  adjourned  at  half  past  four,  in  order  to  afford  the 
counsel  on  each  side  to  proceed  to  Topsfield  and  take  Mrs  Pike’s 
Deposition,  but  when  they  arrived  there  they  found  her  quite 
well,  and  able  to  come  to  Court,  and  testify  regularly,  and  there¬ 
fore  her  deposition  was  not  taken. 

Tuesday,  Nov.  25. 

Mr  Huntington  proposed  to  introduce  witnesses  to  prove  Mi 
Pike’s  general  good  character. 

Mr  Saltonstall  objected,  because  the  defendants  did  not  propose 
to  put  Mr  Pike’s  general  character  in  issue,  and  cited  the  opinion 


9 


of  Lord  Abbott,  that  in  a  case  of  libel,  it  was  not  in  the  power 
of  the  plaintiff  to  go  into  general  character,  unless  his  genera! 
character  was  impeached  by  the  defendants. 

The  Court  inclined  to  the  ground  assumed  by  the  defendants, 
and  deemed  such  proof  unnecessary,  as  the  jury,  by  presumption 
of  law,  must  take  the  plaintiff’s  general  character  to  be  good,  un¬ 
til  it  was  impeached  by  the  defendants. 

After  a  short  consultation,  the  Counsel  for  the  Plaintiff  waived 
the  point,  and  proceeded  to  call  witnesses,  as  to  !\Ir.  Pike’s  profes¬ 
sion,  and  standing  as  necessary  in  order  to  enable  the  jury  to  esti¬ 
mate  the  damages  he  must  in  all  probability  sustain,  if  the  facts 
contained  in  the  libel  were  believed  to  be  true. 

Twelve  witnesses  were  accordingly  examined  and  cross-exam¬ 
ined  on  this  point,  and  it  appeared  from  their  testimony,  that  from 
the  year  1815,  up  to  the  present  time,  Mr.  Pike  has  kept  classical 
schools,  and  fitted  young  men  for  college,  in  Newburyport,  Fram¬ 
ingham,  Woburn,  Rowley,  Boston,  and  Topsfield.  Three  stat¬ 
ed  that  difficulties  existed  at  Framingham,  Newburyport,  and 
Woburn,  and  that  the  numbers  of  students  fell  off,  prior  to  his 
leaving  those  places.  The  nature  of  the  difficulties  referred  to 
did  not  appear,  and  the  jury  were  cautioned  by  the  court  not  to 
draw  any  inference  from  that  fact  unfavorable  to  the  plaintiff.  Dr. 
Noyes,  of  Boston,  attributed  a  falling  off  of  the  numbers,  at  Mr. 
Pike’s  private  school,  in  Boston,  “to  the  ‘pressure," — i.  e.  the  re¬ 
moval  of  the  deposites.  He  said  the  effects  of  the  pressure  were 
also  felt  in  the  other  private  schools  in  the  city. 

[In  connection  with  this  point,  but  on  a  subsequent  day,  the  de¬ 
fendants  introduced  witnesses,  who  testified  that  complaints  existed 
about  Mr.  Pike’s  mode  of  discipline  ;  they  testified  decisively,  that 
“  there  was  no  diminution  of  the  public  confidence  in  Mr.  Pike  as 
an  able  and  accomplished  instructor;  but  there  was  a  diminution 
of  confidence  in  his  inode  of  discipline.”  Mr.  Marston,  of  New¬ 
buryport,  after  some  consideration,  said  he  believed,  that  the  dis¬ 
satisfaction  at  Newburyport  related  to  his  mode  of  treatment  of  his 
female  scholars  ;  but  he  never  heard  any  thing  against  his  human¬ 
ity.] 

At  this  stage  of  the  trial,  it  not  being  necessary  for  the  plaintiff 
to  prove  the  falsehood  of  the  libel,  until  the  defendants  had  intro¬ 
duced  testimony  to  substantiate  its  truth — 

Mr.  Wheatland  opened  for  the  defence,  by  remarking  that  the 
case  was  of  vast  importance  to  the  defendants,  on  account  of  the 
great  sum  claimed  for  damages.  After  premising  that  most  men 
had  a  good  general  character,  and  also  something  unfavorable  in 
their  particular  character,  Mr.  Wheatland  observed  that  this  was  the 
case  with  Mr.  Pike — his  general  character  was  good,  but  he  had  a 
bad  particular  character, as  the  facts  in  the  present  case  would  prove. 
Mr.  W.  then  went  into  a  general  statement  of  the  facts  which  the  de- 
2 


10 


pendants  expected  to  prove  in  justification  of  the  publications  de 
dared  on.  lie  said  they  would  be  able  to  show,  that  neither  Mr. 
Beals  nor  Greene  wrote  the  article,  and  that  it  was  published  for 
the  most  humane  of  purposes;  that  Sarah  B.  Jay,  only  eight  years 
old  last  January,  has  no  father  ;  that  her  mother  proposed  to  Mrs. 
Colby  to  put  her  into  an  asylum ;  that  Mr.  Colby  took  the  child 
into  her  own  family;  that  while  with  her,  the  child  was  in  good 
health  and  condition,  and  neat,  tidy  and  clean;  that  Mr.  Pike  ap¬ 
plied  to  Mrs.  Colby  for  a  young  girl,  and  that  Mrs.  Colby  referred 
her  to  Mrs.  Howard,  Sarah’s  mother ;  that  the  first  application  was 
made  by  Mrs.  Pike  and  not  by  Mrs.  Howard;  that  Mrs.  Howard 
refused  to  have  Sarah  bound  to  Mr.  Pike ;  and  that  she  was  deliv¬ 
ered  to  Mr.  Pike  in  a  good  condition  in  every  respect,  and  lived 
with  .Mr.  Pike  three  or  four  weeks  before  they  went  to  Topsfield, 
without  any  change  in  her  habits.  At  Topsfield,  and  while  at 
Mr.  Pike’s,  she  became  haggard,  pale  and  sick,  lost  her  little  toe, 
and  had  her  feet  split  open,  as  he  would  show,  by  cold.  In  this 
state  she  was  turned  into  the  poor  house,  because  Mr.  Pike,  as  he 
himself  said,  was  afraid  she  would  die  on  his  hands.  When  she 
was  put  into  the  Alms-house  at  Topsfield,  which  was  filled  with 
vermin,  she  was  clad  sparely — with  a  pair  of  boy’s  shoes  down  at 
the  heel,  a  thin  calico  gown,  with  short  sleeves,  a  woollen  garment 
so  ragged  and  filthy  as  not  to  be  fit  for  hogs  to  toss  about  in  a  sty ; 
and  when  the  overseers  inquired  of  Mr.  Pike  concerning  her 
clothes,  he  told  them  there  were  none  for  her.  In  this  state  the 
girl  was  sent  home  to  her  mother,  and  the  physicians,  upon  exam- 
>ng  her,  were  of  opinion  that  she  could  hardly  be  expected  to  live. 
Among  other  neighbors,  Mr.  Sweeney  saw  the  child  at  her  mother’s, 
and  hearing  the  facts,  embodied  them  into  an  article,  and  sent  it 
to  the  office  of  the  Morning  Post,  and  Mr.  Greene,  upon  going 
and  making  inquiries  himself,  which  satisfied  him,  that  there  was 
a  good  foundation  for  the  article,  published  it.  Shortly  after  the 
appearance  of  this  Communication  in  the  Post,  which  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  people  in  Topsfield,  the  Trustees  of  the  Tops¬ 
field  Academy,  to  contradict  it,  held  a  meeting  in  the  Academy, 
and  brought  before  them  a  domestic  in  Mr.  Pike’s  family,  of  14 
years  of  age,  and  took  her  deposition,  contrary  to  the  late  statute 
against  extra-judicial  oaths,  and  upon  the  strength  of  this  deposi¬ 
tion,  so  unlawfully  taken,  and  without  the  presence  of  a  single 
friend  to  the  little  girl,  the  trustees  issued  the  remarkable  certifi¬ 
cate,  which  drew  forth  the  second  article  in  the  Post,  which  has 
been  paraded  before  you  gentlemen  of  the  jury,  as  a  more  infam¬ 
ous  libel  than  the  first  one. 

In  addition  to  what  has  been  stated,  we  shall  be  able  to  show, 
said  Mr.  Wheatland,  that  the  little  girl  was  never  permitted  to  go 
to  school,  to  church,  or  even  to  a  Sabbath  school,  and  perhaps  Mr. 
Pike  had  good  reason  for  not  sending  her  to  church,  for  he  might 


11 


well  fear  that  she  might  hear  there,  “  that  he  who  oppresseth  the 
poor,  is  a  reproach  to  his  Maker.”  But  this  is  not  all,  gentlemen  : 
there  are  still  one  or  two  things  which  I  feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to 
allude  to,  however  repulsive  it  may  be  to  you  as  well  as  myself. 
You  have  heard  it  read  in  the  pleas  that  Mr.  Pike  compelled  the 
child  to  eat  assafoztida  and  even  her  own  excrement.  Gentlemen, 
this  is  literally  true,  and  we  shall  prove  it  to  you  beyond  the  hope 
or  suspicion  of  a  doubt. 

Gentlemen,  my  brother  Huntington,  in  his  opening,  told  us,  that 
if  we  came  within  a  thousand  miles  of  proving  the  truth  of  the 
facts  alleged,  he  would  hold  himself  bound  to  call  his  client  to  an 
account  before  the  Grand  Jury.  We  accept  the  challenge  ;  for 
we  shall  come  a  little  nearer — aye,  a  great  deal  nearer  than  a 
thousand  miles  to  the  facts  charged — and  I  do  now,  and  shall,  hold 
him  to  his  promise — to  the  strict  redeeming  of  his  pledge  to  the 
letter  ;  but  if  we  come  only  within  ten  thousand  miles,  gentlemen, 
we  shall  expect  your  verdict ;  and  if  we  make  out  our  case,  against 
Mr.  Pike,  the  indignation  of  men  must  follow  him  here,  and  the 
wrath  of  God,  if  he  be  just  and  true,  will  follow  him  hereafter.” 

Testimony  of  the  Witnesses  called  by  the  Defendants  to  prove  the 

truth  of  the  charges  contained  in  the  Publications,  alleged  to  be 

libellous. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Colby,  [of  Boston,  and  one  of  the  managers  of 
the  “Childrens’  Friends  Society,”  who  have  an  asylum  in  Green 
Street.]  In  1834,  in  the  fall,  Mrs.  Ploward  came  to  me  to  see  if 
I  could  get  her  child  into  an  asylum,  and  said  that  she  was  not  able 
to  take  care  of  her ;  that  her  age  was  eight  years,  and  had  no 
father,  &c. — After  hearing  her  story,  I  told  her  I  would  confer 
with  another  lady  who  was  associated  with  me,  and  let  her  know 
if  we  could.  A  short  time  after  Mrs  Howard  applied  to  me,  a 
young  lady  called  upon  me  to  know  if  a  child  could  be  obtained 
from  an  institution  which  I  was  connected  with,  to  live  with  her 
mother,  whom  she  stated  to  be  a  Mrs.  Pike — 1  told  her  we  had  none 
then.  It  did  not  then  occur  to  me,  that  Mrs.  Howard’s  child 
would  answer — I  never  thought  of  her  in  connexion  with  Mrs. 
Pike’s  application  at  that  time — the  reason  Mrs.  Howard  called  on 
me,  I  suppose  was,  because  I  was  visiting  manager  of  the  Institu¬ 
tion  for  that  month — there  being  twelve  managers.  On  Saturday 
afternoon,  I  called  at  Mrs.  Howard’s  residence,  and  informed  her 
that  the  managers  had  concluded  it  would  not  be  expedient  to  take 
her  child  into  the  institution  at  that  time  ;  but  I  told  Mrs.  Ploward 
to  prepare  Sarah  for  the  Institution  against  the  time  when  we 
should  he  able  to  take  her.  On  Monday,  I  think,  it  was  of  the 
next  week,  Mrs.  Howard  came  to  me  with  Sarah,  and  having  in 
her  arms  another  child — she  appeared  much  distressed,  and  said 
she  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  her,  as  her  husband  objected  to 
support  Sarah.  I  told  her  again  we  could  not  take  the  iittle  girl 


into  the  institution.  She  then  asked  me  to  take  her  myself, — 1  told 
her  I  could  not  take  upon  me  such  a  responsibility.  The  mother’s 
situation,  however,  interested  me  so  much,  that  I  concluded  on  the 
whole,  that  I  would  take  the  child,  and  do  what  I  could  to  pro¬ 
vide  her  a  place.  The  mother  told  me  frankly  at  the  outset,  that 
she  would  not  deceive  me  about  the  child,  and  that  she  had  been 
very  much  exposed  to  vicious  habits  —  this  was  before  I  concluded 
to  take  her — she  said,  she  thought  she  would  require  watching — 
I  did  so,  and  kept  her  chiefly  in  my  own  room,  under  my  eye — I 
found  her  very  handy  at  the  needle,  and  she  did  little  jobs  about 
the  house  with  remarkable  facility  and  neatness — being  careful, 
after  being  cautioned  not  to  soil  her  clothes  with  her  work,  and 
would  come  up  to  me  cheerfully  and  show  me  that  she  had  kept 
them  clean.  She  was  a  clean  child,  and  her  mother  had  made  her 
as  clean  and  neat  as  her  circumstances  admitted  of.  Mrs.  Pike’s 
daughter  called  again  to  inquire  if  I  had  found  a  girl.  I  thought 
it  a  good  opening  for  Sarah,  and  referred  the  girl  to  Mrs.  Howard. 
I  felt  confidence  in  Mrs.  Pike,  on  account  of  the  person  who  had 
referred  her  to  me.  1  had  an  interview  with  Mrs.  Howard,  about 
giving  the  child  to  Mrs.  Pike — T  told  her  how  much  I  had  become 
interested  in  Sarah,  and  that  I  should  always  feel  an  interest  for 
the  child  While  I  was  conversing  with  her,  Mrs.  Pike  came  in, 
and  the  child  was  given  up  to  her.  Mrs  Pike  promised  to  clothe 
her  well  and  comfortably.  I  did  the  chief  part  of  the  talking,  and 
dont  remember  exactly  what  Mrs.  Howard  said  to  Mrs.  Pike  about 
Sarah. 

Cross  Examined. — Mrs.  Howard  told  me  that  Sarah  had  been 
exposed  to  see  vicious  people,  or  children,  in  some  neighborhood, 
where  she  had  been  living — and  said  she  was  a  very  bad  child — 
1  felt  much  struck  by  such  a  remark  from  her  mother,  and  I  asked 
her  what  she  meant — she  t^en  gave  me  to  understand  that  her 
word  was  not  to  be  relied  on.  In  consequence  of  what  her  mother 
had  said  about  her,  I  watched  her  narrowly — I  left  little  articles 
about,  and  money,  in  places  where  she  would  be  likely  to  see  it, 
but  always  found  every  thing  in  its  place — her  propensity  to  talk 
was  rather  greater  than  common.  To  Mrs.  Pike  I  stated  all  these 
facts  in  the  same  manner  I  have  now  slated  them.  I  tcld  her  the 
child  needed  gentle,  but  firm  treatment — that  her  feelings  were 
such  as  to  require  gentle  treatment — her  personal  habits  were  clean. 
The  child  appeared  to  be  of  an  amiable  disposition,  and  my  feel¬ 
ings  had  become  quite  enlisted  for  her.  I  recollect  expressing  to 
Mrs.  Pike  a  great  deal  of  interest  for  the  child — I  recollect  saying 
to  her,  that  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  how  she  got  along.  I  dont 
know  that  I  asked  Mrs.  Pike  to  write  to  me,  but  I  felt  the  yearn¬ 
ings  of  a  mother  for  the  child,  and  expressed  my  desire  to  learn 
how  she  got  on  several  times — over  and  over  again  I  believe  I 
can  with  perfect  safety  say,  that  I  never  saw  anv  thing  vicious  in  her. 


13 


hired  examination  resumed. — Last  spring  I  was  called  upon  io 
go  and  see  the  child,  which  I  was  informed  had  been  brought  home 
to  her  mother — she  was  very  much  altered — very  much  emaciated, 
and  pale — there  was  much  excitement  prevalent  about  her — I  re¬ 
called  in  the  evening  with  Dr.  Hint.  Her  feet  were  very  sore  ; — 
one  of  her  toes — the  small  one — was  nearly  off’; — there  were  two 
very  bad  places  under  one  heel,  like  deep  gashes  spread  open — 
around  her  ankles  there  were  black  and  blue  spots — she  looked 
like  a  sick  child.  As  I  sat  and  rocked  her  in  my  arms,  and 
looked  upon  her,  it  did  not  seem  as  if  she  could  live.  Her  mother 
did  not  say  much,  though  she  appeared  to  feel  much,  and  seemed 
much  excited.  Her  mother  appeared  to  be  an  amiable,  gentle, 
and  kind  woman — a  woman  who  had  suffered  much  affliction—  of 
an  uncomplaining  disposition,  not  disposed  to  overstate  facts — I 
was  much  struck  with  her  equanimity,  while  others  were  so  much 
excited — the  excitement  that  existed  was  not  boisteious,  but  par¬ 
took  of  a  solemn  character.  While  1  was  there,  there  was  gener¬ 
ally  a  coming  and  going  of  persons.  When  Mrs.  Pike  took  her, 
she  had  no  sores  oi:  her  feet.  She  continues  feeble,  but  having 
weak  eyes,  which  are  bandaged,  she  does  not  look  so  much  like  a 
well  child,  as  she  might,  if  her  eyes  were  not  sore.  I  called  once 
at  her  grandmother’s  to  see  her. 

Cross  examination  resumed. — We  did  not  think  it  expedient  to 
admit  her  into  our  institution  in  the  first  place,  because  our  funds 
were  small,  and  we  thought  she  was  old  enough  to  do  something 
for  herself;  and  second,  that  as  she  had  been  exposed  to  vice — to 
see  vicious  children,  and  be  among  them — I  thought  it  improper  to 
have  her  introduced  among  younger  children,  as  she  might  exert 
a  bad  influence  ;  but  if  she  had  been  younger,  notwithstandnig  her 
supposed  habits,  I  think  we  should  have  taken  her.  I  understood  from 
her  mother,  that  Mr.  Howard  thought  it  was  too  great  a  burden  to 
maintain  her.  Mrs.  Howard  has  had  three  husbands,  and  Sarah  was 
the  child  of  her  first  husband,  and  she  had  another  by  the  intermedi¬ 
ate  husband,  and  expected  to  be  confined  again.  Mr.  Howard’s  un¬ 
willingness  to  maintain  Sarah,  gave  her  mother  extra  anxiety — she 
said  she  was  much  pressed  down,  and  found  it  hard  to  get  along. 

I  kept  Sarah  in  my  chamber  so  as  to  be  able  to  see  what  her  char¬ 
acter  and  disposition  was — I  found  her  quite  intelligent,  for  a  child 
of  her  age,  and  class. 

She  sang  a  good  deal.  As  near  as  I  can  recollect,  I  told  Mrs. 
Pike  what  I  have  now  stated.  Her  mother  told  me  1  think,  that 
she  had  been  living  at  three  places.  Her  mother  said,  “  I  will  not 
deceive  you  about  the  child,”  at  the  very  time  she  applied. 

Mary  F.  Howard — I  am  the  mother  of  Sarah  Jay. — She 

was  eight  years  of  age  last  February. — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Pike  called 


14 


on  me  one  evening,  a  little  after  candle  light,  and  said  they  un¬ 
derstood  at  IMrs.  Colby’s  about  my  having  a  child,  that  I  wanted  a 
place  for — we  talked  some  time,  and  it  was  agreed  that  we  should 
meet  at  Mrs.  Colby’s.  I  went  to  Mrs.  Colby’s,  and  stopped  some 
time  before  Mrs.  and  Mr.  Pike  came — I  cant  recollect  all  that 
was  said — only  I  spoke  of  the  motherly  kindness  that  the  child 
ought  to  have  to  make  her  a  good  girl,  and  an  amiable  woman 
Mrs.  Pike  took  the  child,  and  told  Mrs.  Colby  she  would  send  to 
her  and  let  her  know  how  the  child  got  along.  It  was  in  Sep¬ 
tember.  After  Mrs.  Pike  took  her,  I  visited  her  off  and  on — near 
the  last  of  their  being  in  Boston,  I  called  and  observed  that 
the  child  had  creatures  in  her  head,  and  I  spoke  to  Mrs.  Pike’s 
girl  about  it,  and  said  it  was  something  strange — that  she  was  not 
in  the  habit  of  having  them,  and  wished  her  to  look  after  it. — Mrs. 
Pike  said  she  calculated  to  bring  her  up  the  same  as  her  own 
children — and  to  give  her  an  education  sufficient  to  enable  her  to 
keep  a  common  school — or  to  put  her  to  learn  a  tiade,  as  soon  as 
she  was  old  enough  to  choose  one.  if  she  preferred  a  trade  to 
keeping  a  school.  The  child  was  in  good  health,  and  had  been 
for  three  years  before — she  was  clean — I  was  always  particular 
about  keeping  my  children  clean.  I  heard  nothing  directly  from 
my  child  after  she  went  to  Topsfield,  till  one  day  two  gentlemen 
called  on  me,  who  said  they  were  overseers  of  the  Topsfield  alms¬ 
house.  and  told  me  my  child  was  in  the  alms-house,  and  had  been 
there  a  week — one  brought  me  a  letter  from  Mr.  Pike,  he  said — I 
was  so  agitated  that  I  could  not  read  the  letter,  and  carried  it  to 
Mrs  Sweeney  to  read  it  for  me.  The  gentlemen  asked  me  what 
they  should  do  with  the  child — I  told  them  I  wished  to  have  her 
brought  immediately  home — this  was  on  a  Wednesday,  and  she 
come  the  next  Monday,  which  was  the  27th  of  April. 

The  child  was  very  weak,  very  feeble,  and  very  cold. — she 
could  not  raise  herself  up  strait,  as  she  was  in  the  habit  of  stand¬ 
ing — she  was  so  poor,  that  her  bones  showed  through — her  hip 
bone  cut  through  the  skin  so  as  to  make  a  sore  of  the  size  of  a 
fourpence.  On  her  little  toe  there  was  a  small  dead  lump  like 
dough,  which  came  off  after  a  few  days,  and  left  nothing  like  a 
toe — there  were  bruises  on  her  body  and  like  the  blows  from  a 
stick.  I  poulticed  her  feet.  She  was  so  sick  that  I  had  to  lift  her 
out  and  into  bed  like  an  infant. — The  next  day  Doctor  Flint  came, 
and  gave  me  some  ointment  for  the  sores  on  the  child’s  feet  and 
hands — Dr.  Jackson  and  Dr.  Strong  also  came — Dr.  Shattuck 
prescribed  for  her — I  did  not  send  for  either  of  those  gentlemen — 
I  sent  for  a  physician,  but  he  did  not  come — I  dont  recollect  his 
name — For  a  fortnight  after  she  returned,  I  had  to  take  her  out 
and  in  bed,  like  an  infant. — The  house  was  constantly  filled  with 
people  coming  to  see  the  child.  Her  stomach  was  very  weak, 
and  she  threw  up  every  thing  she  ate  at  first — but  had  a  great  ap¬ 
petite. 


15 


[Mrs.  Howard  here  exhibited  the  articles  worn  home  by  Sarah, 
viz  .  a  blue  check  gown,  short  sleeves;  green  shawl,  loose  net¬ 
work,  that  peas  might  be  shot  through  ;  shoes  long  enough  for  a 
woman,  and  down  at  the  heel.  She  wore  home  the  same  bonnet 
and  petticoat  she  wore  away.]  Testimony  continued — “  The 
weather  was  clear  and  pleasant,  but  very  cold,  for  the  season. 
She  had  a  change  of  linen  when  she  went  away — two  old  calico 
gowns — one  apron — one  tyer — new  pair  of  leather  shoes,  but  I 
dont  recollect  about  her  stockings.  I  offered  her  a  cloak,  but 
Mrs.  Pike  thought  I  had  better  keep  it  for  my  other  children,  and 
said  she  would  provide  her  with  one.  She  had  no  change  of  cloth¬ 
ing  when  she  returned — no  bundle — nothing  at  all.  Mrs.  Pike 
•spoke  to  me  about  binding  the  child,  butlobjected.  Mrs,  Pike  said, 
if  the  child  was  bound  to  her,  she  should  be  obliged  to  take  care 
of  her  in  health  and  sickness.  I  said  if  she  was  sick  I  should 
choose  to  take  care  of  her  myself;  and  if  Mrs.  Pike  should  become 
dissatisfied  with  her,  she  would  not  be  able  to  take  care  of  her  as 
well  as  she  did  her  own,  because  it  would  not  be  natural.  Af¬ 
terwards  I  made  inquiries  about  the  nature  of  binding,  and  when 
she  spoke  of  it  again,  I  said  the  child  might  be  bound. — When 
she  came  home,  her  head  was  filled  with  small  lice — her  hair  was 
knitted,  and  in  some  places  worn  off,  and  cut  off  short. — There 
were  bald  places  on  her  head — I  didnt  think  she  would  live  a 
week,  and  that  was  the  opinion  of  a  number  of  others.  Previous 
to  going  to  Mrs.  1'ike’s,  she  was  at  Mrs.  Colby’s,  waiting  till  an 
opening  was  found  in  the  institution. 

She  limped  a  few  days  before  she  went  to  Topsfield — [  asked 
the  oldest  girl  if  Sarah’s  feet  were  sore,  and  she  said  they  were 
with  chilblains.  Two  seasons  before,  while  she  was  living  with 
Mrs  Roff,  she  was  troubled  with  chilblains,  and  I  told  her  to 
put  some  cold  cream  on  them,  and  I  never  heard  of  any  trouble 
afterwards.  Her  feet  were  perfectly  well  when  she  went  to  Mrs. 
Colby’s.  She  also  lived  with  Mrs.  Shepard,  at  Charlestown.  All 
classes  called  to  see  my  child — some  of  the  most  respectable  ladies 
in  Boston.  I  dont  recollect  how  long  she  was  with  Mrs.  Pike 
before  they  went  to  Topsfield.-  She  went  to  Mr  Pike’s  on  the 
24th  of  September. 

She  told  me  that  her  feet  become  sore  by  cold . 

[.Mr.  Choate  objects  to  the  admission  of  the  child’s  declarations, 
as  evidence.  Mr.  Saltonstall  contends  for  them,  on  the  ground, 
that  they  would  go  to  show,  that  Mr.  Greene  had  not  acted  mali¬ 
ciously,  in  publishing  the  libellous  article,  and  quoted  a  passage 
from  one  of  the  pleas,  in  which  it  is  alleged,  “that  her  feet  were 
frozen,  as  she  says,  for  want  of  bed  clothes,”  and  therefore  the 
defendants  had  a  right  to  prove  what  she  said.  The  court  thought 
the  defendants  might  put  in  her  declarations,  to  rebut  the  idea  of 


16 


malice,  and  as  part  of  the  res  gesta,  but  would  reserve  the  point 
lor  further  consideration.] 

Mrs.  Howard  resumes — “  The  child  said  she  had  not  had  suffi¬ 
cient  food — that  they  gave  her  cold  Indian  meal  and  water,  and 
sometimes  potato  skins,  and  mouldy  mince-meat.  She  said  she 
slept  on  a  straw  bed  on  the  floor,  in  an  upper  room  with  Sarah, 
the  other  girl  [Sarah  Knowlton  ]  Mr.  Greene  called  to  see  the 
child  in  the  course  of  the  first  fortnight. 

Mr  Salt  on  \tall — Mrs  Howard,  do  you  know  who  wrote  the  ar¬ 
ticle  which  appeared  in  the  Post  respecting  your  child  ? 

Choate — Stop  Mrs  Howard — we  objeci  to  that  question  as  im¬ 
material  ;  for  it  is  no  justification  to  the  defendants  that  another 
person  wrote  the  article. 

Court — The  defendants  are  responsible,  and  the  question  is 
is  therefore  immaterial. 

Saltunstall — We  contend  that  under  the  Statute  of  Justification, 
the  fact  would  go  to  show  that  the  delendant  had  no  malice — we 
wish  to  show  that  another  person  wrote  the  article  at  the  request 
of  the  mother,  and  thus  will  go  to  rebut  malice. 

Court — 1  think  it  may  be  admitted  for  that  purpose. 

Choate — This  in  our  view  would  be  on  overruling  the  whole 
series  of  decisions,  together  with  Alderman  vs.  French  in  which 
it  was  expressly  decided,  that  nothing  but  truth  is  a  defence;  that 
the  defendant  was  mistaken  will  not  even  mitigate  under  the  gen¬ 
eral  issue. 

Saltonstull — I  understand  that  under  the  statute  of  1820,  we 
have  the  full  advantage  of  both  pleas — the  general  issue  and  justi¬ 
fication.  The  case  of  Alderman  vs.  French  upset  the  whole 
series  of  cases  before  made,  and  it  was  on  account  of  that  very 
decision,  that  the  statute  was  made.  In  the  case  in  5th  Pick,  it 
was  held,  that  no  general  issue  having  been  pleaded,  the  defendant 
could  not  avail  himself  of  mitigating  circumstances,  and  it  there¬ 
fore  implied,  that  if  he  had  pleaded  the  general  issue,  that  the  evi¬ 
dence  might  have  been  received. 

Choate — It  has  always  been  held  that  under  the  general  issue 
the  truth  cannot  be  given  in  evidence  to  rebut  malice — the  Slat- 
ute  in  this  respect  has  not  altered  the  Common  Law. 

Saltonstall — The  present  is  like  any  other  action  of  tort.  The 
defendants  may  show  any  thing,  under  the  general  issue,  as  part  of 
the  res  gcsla,  which  goes  to  show  how  much  damages  ought  to  be 
recovered,  precisely  as  if  no  plea  in  justification  had  been  made. 
We  do  not  propose  to  show  who  the  author  is  as  proof  of  the 
truth  of  the  article,  but  that  the  defendants  did  not  publish  it  ma¬ 
liciously,  and  that  they  did  it  under  suchjand  such  circumstances  ; 
and  that  though  the  defendants  failed  to  prove  its  truth,  they 
might  still  show  in  what  manner  the  publication  happened. 


17 


» 


The  Court  proposed  to  take  the  papers  and  books  containing 
the  authorities  referred  to,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  this  ques¬ 
tion,  and  the  other  respecting  the  girl’s  declarations,  and  an¬ 
nouncing  its  opinion  in  the  ensuing  morning.] 

Cross  examination  of  Mrs.  Howard. — I  have  a  record  of  the 
child’s  age  in  my  Bible — she  was  eight  last  February — I  never 
said  she  was  nine,  or  that  I  did  not  know  how  old  she  was. 
The  day  she  started  for  Topsfield,  I  went  into  Mrs.  William’s 
chamber,  and  had  a  conversation  with  Mrs.  Pike.  She  first  pro¬ 
posed  to  have  the  child  bound,  and  set  several  times  to  have  the 
indentures  ready — I  never  heard  that  there  was  any  objections 
on  the  part  of  any  member  of  Mr.  Pike’s  family  to  taking  Sarah — 
I  told  Mrs.  Pike  that  the  child  had  a  weakness  in  her  infancy, 
and  that  if  she  ever  exhibited  any  effects  of  it,  to  attend  to  it  and 
she  said  she  would — and  I  mentioned  to  her  about  the  chilblains. 

1  represented  to  Mrs.  Colby,  that  the  child  was  not  with  me, 
when  1  married  my  present  husband,  and  he  never  expected  to 
have  to  maintain  her ;  I  said  my  husband  was  quick  and  would 
sometimes  .throw  out  remarks  which  were  very  disagreeable.  He 
was  very  partial  to  another  child  of  mine,  more  so  I  think  than  to 
his  own.  Mr.  Howard  is  my  third  husband — -Sarah’s  father 
went  away  insane,  and  never  came  back — 1  do  not  know  that 
he  is  dead,  only  from  what  I  read  in  a  paper.  It  is  true,  that 
I  told  Mrs.  Colby,  that  my  children  had  cried  themselves  to  sleep 
for  want  of  bread.  The  Overseer  brought  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Pike, 
but  I  burnt  it  immediately  as  soon  as  it  was  read  to  me.  I  spoke 
to  Martha  Pike  and  Mrs.  Pike  about  the  creatures  in  Sarah’s 
head,  and  said  it  was  unusual.  Sarah  was  4  years  old  when  she 
went  to  Mrs.  Shepherd’s.  Mrs,  Shepherd’s  husband  died,  and 
being  left  a  widow,  she  could  not  maintain  her  any  longer. 

I  told  Mrs.  Pike  that  very  frequently  Sarah  would  commit  little 
faults,  and  tell  wrong  stories  about  them — I  said  she  was  hard  to 
govern,  and  had  a  bad  temper,  providing  she  had  more  than  one 
master — I  said  she  needed  a  steady  hand,  and  wished  Mrs.  Pike 
to  see  to  her  herself.  I  was  not  particularly  anxious  to  have  her 
go  to  Topsfield — After  she  had  gone,  I  regretted  very  much  that  I 
allowed  her  to  go  so  far  from  me.  I  told  Mrs.  Pike  I  expected  to 
be  confined.  Sarah  came  home  about  12 — she  was  alone — it  was 
a  very  cold  day,  and  I  kept  a  fire  all  day.  The  first  words  she 
said  were — “  M’a  dont  beat  me — and  dont  let  father  beat  me.” 
I  sent  for  a  Physician,  but  he  did  not  come — I  cant  think  of  his 
name  now.  Her  entire  feet  were  running  sores — that  is,  the 
lower  parts  of  both  sides — the  upper  part  of  the  toes  of  one  foot 
was  sore.  I  did  not  represent  to  any  one,  that  all  her  toes  were 
like  her  little  toe — I  said  a  good  many  of  her  toes  had  similar 
sores.  The  child  often  had  a  quarter  of  a  dollar  or  a  nine-pence 
given  her.  She  was  not  able  to  go  out  for  six  weeks  or  more. 

O9 


y 

18 


Dr.  Strong  was  her  first  Physician — he  saw  her  three  or  four 
times — Dr.  Jackson  came  after  Dr.  Strong — I  did  not  send  for 
either — I  did  not  represent  about  the  child  so  fully  to  Mrs.  Pike 
as  I  did  to  Mrs.  Colby — I  told  Mrs.  Colby  many  things  that  I 
had  heard  from  hearsay — that  she  had  played  with  some  children 
in  the  yard  at  indecent  plays,  while  I  was  sick — I  was  sick  a  fort¬ 
night.  I  told  Mrs  Colby  that  Sarah  was  a  bad  child,  but  1 
did  not  mean  any  thing  great.  I  only  meant  that  she  required 
watching.  I  lived  in  that  yard  three  or  four  months — Dr.  Flint 
came  the  second  night  after  she  arrived,  and  gave  some  ointment 
for  her  feet — Dr.  Strong  came  next — Dr.  Strong  came  on  a  Mon¬ 
day,  and  I  believe  Dr.  Shattuck  the  Sunday  after.  Mr.  Greene 
came  before  Dr.  Shattuck.  I  knew  from  Mr.  Howard  and  the 
child,  that  he  furnished  her  with  ointment  for  her  feet  before  she 
went  to  Topsfield — she  limped  considerably  with  one  foot.  Be¬ 
fore  Dr.  Strong  came,  I  thought  the  child  could  not  live  a  week. 
The  second  day  people  came  in  to  see  her — and  talked  in  the 
room  in  her  presence,  and  some  gave  money  to  her — I  received 
small  presents  for  my  children.  She  had  a  very  craving  appetite, 
but  I  did  not  gratify  it.  Mrs.  Sweeney  saw  the  letter  before  it 
was  burnt — no  one  advised  me  to  burn  it. 

Mrs.  Colby  re-called — the  first  time  1  called  I  did  not  see  the 
child’s  feet — in  the  evening  I  called  with  Dr.  Flint — he  uncover¬ 
ed  the  foot — I  thought  at  first,  when  I  looked  at  it,  that  half  of 
the  foot  was  off.  By  “  firm  treatment,”  when  I  spoke  to  Mrs.  Pike, 
I  alluded  to  the  talkative,  lively  disposition  of  the  child — I  list¬ 
ened  to  but  little  that  she  used  to  say,  and  of  course  did  not  charge 
my  mind  with  what  she  did  say.  When  I  first  saw  Mrs.  Howard, 
it  was  in  a  respectable  looking  place  and  so  were  all  its  appur¬ 
tenances,  but  being  in  the  third  story  was  uncomfortable. 

[Here  the  child  was  called  to  exhibit  its  foot,  &.c.  to  the  jury, 
and  the  scars  on  her  neck  and  shoulders.  One  joint  entirely  gone 
from  the  little  toe  of  the  left  foot.] 

Dr  Joshua  B.  Flint — I  went  at  the  solicitation  of  my  friend 
Mrs  Colby,  to  see  the  child — I  found  her  feet  affected  with  ulcers 
in  several  places — the  principal  one  was  on  the  outer  edge  of  the 
left  foot — I  recommended  ointment  to  be  applied  till  the  physician 
sent  for  came.  The  little  toe  was  implicated  in  the  ulcer — about 
half  of  the  toe — it  might  have  been  from  chilblains,  or  from  being 
frozen — I  have  no  means  of  determining — such  cases  have  been 
from  neglected  chilblains.  The  ulcer  had  the  appearance  of  not 
being  recent,  but  of  long  standing.  She  was  very  much  ema¬ 
ciated,  and  of  a  sickly  appearance  in  every  point  of  view.  I 
should  .have  thought  from  her  appearance,  that  she  was  suffering 
from  chronic  disease,  or  from  hardship.  Chilblains  are  produced 
by  alternations  of  cold  and  heat — generally  they  are  not  attended 


19^ 


with  a  rupture  of  the  skin — freezing  is.  [Dr.  Flint  examined  the 
child’s  foot  before  the  jury,  and  resumes] — one  joint  is  gone  from 
the  toe — I  never  saw  such  a  case  from  chilblains — hare  read  of 
their  becoming  so  from  irritating  influences. 

Cross  Examined — There  is  only  one  thing  that  leads  me  to 
the  conclusion,  that  she  was  neglected — there  were  black  marks 
around  her  ancles,  which  led  me  to  ask  her  if  she  had  not  been 

tied  by  the  legs,  and  she  answered  that  they - [Dr.  F.  was 

not  permitted  to  state  what  she  said.]  I  should  have  thought  her 
ankles  had  been  tied,  if  she  had  not  told  me  something  which 
led  me  to  think  it  was  not  so.  Stockings  continually  wet  with 
urine  would  be  an  irritating  influence — next  to  pressure,  in  ef¬ 
fect.  Vicissitudes  of  heat  and  cold  are  the  general  producing 
cause  of  chilblains,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  the  children  of  the 
poor  are  more  subject  to  them — and  any  exposure  to  snow  water 
would  aggravate  them — also  walking  on  them.  I  did  not  con¬ 
sider  the  ulcers  scrofulous.  Should  think  India  rubbers  good  for 
them,  if  not  too  tight ;  if  they  fitted  snug  they  would  not  be 
good — for  common  chilblains,  stimulant  applications  are  good. 

Dr.  Jackson. — Dr,  Strong  called  on  me  to  accompany  him 
to  see  the  child,  with  reference  to  inquiring  if  she  was  in  consump¬ 
tion — I  found  her  emaciated  and  fretful — with  the  appearance  of 
having  a  chronic,  organic  disease.  The  conclusion  to  which  we 
come  was,  that  there  was  no  evidence  of  any  settled  organic 
disease.  The  great  local  disease  was  in  her  shoulder,  and  foot — - 
I  cannot  say  positively  that  I  examined  the  feet.  She  complained 
when  any  joint  was  handled —  and  exhibited  considerable  irritation 
both  mental  and  physical. 

Cross  Examined. — Did  not  use  the  stethoscope  to  ascertain  the 
the  state  of  her  lungs — did  not  discern  any  disease  in  the  shoulder, 
she  exhibited  nearly  or  quite  as  much  irritability  when  her  other 
joints  were  examined — she  manifested  uneasiness  at  being  moved — 
our  examination  lasted  about  twenty  minutes — I  never  read  of  a 
joint  being  lost  by  chilblains — I  know  of  no  reason,  why  an  ulcer¬ 
ated  chilblain  located  on  the  toe  should  not  remove  the  joint. 

Mr.  Choate. — You  speak,  Doctor,  of  her  complaining  as  much 
when  one  joint  was  handled  as  another — did  it  occur  to  you,  was 
it  your  impression,  from  any  thing  you  saw  in  her  or  about  the 
house,  that  she  was  making  all  these  appearances  of  great  bodily 
pain  1 

Mr.  Saltonstall  objected  to  the  question  entirely — it  was  asking 
the  Doctor  to  express  his  opinion  upon  a  subject  that  was  .  not 
medical,  and  upon  a  point  that  had  never  been  suggested  before. 

Choate. — We  contend  that  a  physician  is  a  competent  witness 
to  answer  the  question — I  mean  to  argue  to  the  jury,  that  this 


20 


case  is  one  of  imposition  from  the  beginning  to  the  end  to  create 
an  excitement,  awaken  sympathy  and  extort  money  from  the  num¬ 
ber  who  visited  her  at  her  mother’s.  [See  the  testimony  of  Miss 
French,  Dr.  Strong,  Mr  Saltonstall’s  argument,  and  Judge  Put¬ 
nam’s  Charge.] 

Dr.  Jackson  answers. — My  opinion  was,  that  the  child  was  too 
sick  to  play  a  part. — It  is  not  very  rare  for  children  of  her  age  to 
be  unable  to  retain  their  urine — paralytic  affection  may  produce 
inability  to  retain  the  denser  matter  contained  in  the  bowels — saw 
no  appearance  of  paralytic  affection — voiding  of  urine  would  in¬ 
crease  the  irritation  of  chilblains. 

Wednesday,  Nov.  25. 

His  Honor  Judge  Putnam,  upon  taking  the  Bench,  this  morning, 
observed,  that  since  the  adjournment  last  evening,  he  had  had  un¬ 
der  consideration,  and  had  examined  the  authorities,  upon  the 
question  of  the  admissibility  of  Sarah’s  declarations,  and  had  come 
to  the  conclusion,  though  the  plea  alleges  that  she  said  so  and  so,  to 
exclude  them ;  his  Honor  had  also  come,  to  the  determination  to 
exclude  the  evidence  to  show  that  Mr.  Sweeney  was  the  author 
of  the  communication,  at  the  request  of  the  mother.  He  was  de¬ 
cidedly  of  opinion,  that  such  evidence  was  inadmissible  under  either 
plea — the  general  issue,  or  justification. 

Rev.  Thomas  Whittemore. — I  have  seen  Sarah  B.  Jay, — saw 
her  about  three  weeks  after  she  was  brought  home,  at  her  mother’s 
house — went  at  the  repeated  solicitation  of  several  gentlemen — 
the  mother  showed  me  the  child’s  head,  and  asked  me  if  I  wished 
to  see  her  feet — I  said  if  it  was  not  improper,  I  should — when  she 
proceeded  to  remove  the  stockings  and  bandages,  the  child  suppli¬ 
cated  her  not  to — but  the  mother  persisted,  and  I  perceived  the 
feet  to  be  diseased  up  as  high  as  the  ankle — she  seemed  sickly  and 
emaciated — her  hair  shaven  off  closely,  as  if  from  some  applica¬ 
tion — generally  quite  close,  but  unevenly.  The  mother  seemed 
an  exceedingly  tender  mother,  and  appeared  to  be  a  neat  woman. 

Rev.  Thomas  Norris. — Sometime  in  April  last,  saw  the  child — 
she  appeared  to  be  in  spasms — she  looked  out  two  or  three  times,  and 
begged  that  I  would  not  give  her  up  to  her  master — her  hair  bald, 
and  some  places  shaven  close — the  child  was  laboring  under 
nervous  excitement — her  appearance  was  deathly — her  bones  and 
sinews  seemed  as  if  they  would  come  through — the  bones  of  her 
arms  and  ankles  stood  out  in  view.  Feet  all  over  in  a  state  of  in- 
flamation — one  foot  much  worse  than  the  other — the  little  toe 
dead — there  were  several  other  people  there — I  called  several  days 
successively — her  mother  took  good  care  of  her. 

John  D.  Sioeeney  [author,  of  the  communication] — I  knew  Sarah 


21 


B.  Jay — her  mother  hired  a  room  of  me  in  Myrtle  Street — I  came 
home  one  dinner  time  and  found  my  wife  crying - 

Mr.  Choate. — You  need  not  tell  us  about  your  wife’s  crying — 
What  did  you  see  ? 

Sweeney. — The  child  was  emaciated,  and  sick — and  much  de¬ 
bilitated  generally — her  hair  shaven  off  close — continued  emaciated 
for  some  weeks— she  had  the  appearance  of  having  suffered  con¬ 
siderable  hardship. 

Cross  Examined.— I  warned  them  out,  and  I  warned  all  my 
tenants  out,  because  I  wanted  the  room — they  did  not  pay  all  the 
rent — the  rent  was  seven  shillings  a  week — I  cant  tell  how  much 
of  the  rent  was  not  paid — I  never  sued  for  it.  Mr.  Howard  is  a 
revolutionary  pensioner,  or  a  pensioner  of  the  last  war — he  sticks 
up  bills — they  have  three  children — one  a  small  one  in  the  arms — 

I  never  knew  Mr.  Howard  to  be  intemperate — I’m  an  Irishman — 
a  coppersmith. 

Mrs.  Sweeney — I  saw  the  child  when  she  first  arrived,  on  the 
27th  of  April — I  was  the  first  person  that  saw  her  in  the  Stage 
alone — she  was  very  feeble — I  had  to  support  her,  to  keep  her 
from  falling  in  the  entry — there  were  marks  on  her  legs — the 
flesh  was  swollen  over  her  garters,  so  that  they  were  dented  into 
her  legs,  and  left  a  very  deep  mark  when  they  were  uncovered — 
had  on  a  short  sleeve  frock,  pink  silk  bonnet,  shawl,  and  boy’s 
slippers — She  was  entirely  destitute  of  flesh — one  spot  on  the  hip 
where  the  bone  was  through — her  arms  were  but  little  bigger  than 
my  thumb — on  her  feet  three  large  sores — on  one  heel,  one  on 
a  big  toe,  and  a  little  toe  one  continued  ulcer — I  think  it  was 
on  Election  day,  that  she  went  to  her  Grandmother’s — she  had 
been  in  my  room  once  before  she  went  to  her  Grandmother’s — 
her  mother  took  as  much  care  of  her  as  any  one  could  take 
of  a  child.  People  called  from  morning  till  night  for  a  fort¬ 
night — I  saw  no  sham — I  dont  think  she  could  have  counter¬ 
feited — her  spirits  would  sometimes  come  up  a  little,  but  they 
would  soon  go  off  and  she  would  lay  her  head  down. 

Cross  Examined — She  did  not  play  in  the  street,  before  she 
went  to  her  Grandmother’s — she  might  have  crossed  over — Mr. 
Howard  and  his  family  were  quiet  people, — never  knew  of  any 
improper  conduct. 

Charles  G.  Singleton — On  the  second  day  saw  the  child  at  re¬ 
quest  of  my  wife — she  was  much  emaciated — her  appearance  was 
frightful — her  hair  all  stood  erect. 

Mrs.  Sarah  Davis — Sarah  is  my  Grand-child — her  father  has 
never  been  heard  from  since  she  was  a  fortnight  old.  Before  she 
went  to  Topsfield,  I  went  with  her  mother  to  Mrs.  Pike’s — I  heard 


22 


a  conversation  between  Mrs.  Howard  and  Mrs.  Pike  relative  to 
bringing  up  the  child — Mrs.  Pike  offered  to  educate  her  so  that 
she  might  be  able  to  get  her  own  living  in  the  way  best  suited  to 
her  constitution  and  convenience  when  she  came  of  age — she  said 
she  wished  to  have  her  kept  comfortable,  and  would  endeavor  to 
keep  her  so — would  do  as  well  by  her,  as  she  wonld  wish  any  body 
to  do  by  one  of  her  own  children,  if  they  took  one  of  her  own 
children  to  bring  up.  If  Sarah  was  sick,  or  any  dissatisfaction 
on  either  side,  she  was  to  be  sent  home  to  her  mother — Mrs.  Pike 
said  so.  Sarah’s  health  was  good — her  habits  were  the  same  as 
other  children  of  the  same  age.  I  saw  her  the  next  day  after 
her  return  to  Boston — the  flesh  was  bare  on  the  hips — she  came 
to  my  house  on  Election  day — her  father-in-law  had  to  lead  her — 
she  laid  on  the  sofa  all  day — she  staid  a  fortnight  at  my  house — 
the  day  after  she  returned  to  Boston,  she  had  lice  and  nits  in  her 
head — I  did  not  think  she  would  live  a  week  when  I  saw  her 
first — Mrs.  Howard’s  first  husband  went  away  in  a  state  of  in¬ 
sanity. 

Nathaniel  Perley — saw  Sarah  B.  Jay  in  Topsfield,  in  October 
or  November — her  appearance  was  like  that  of  any  other  girl — 
I  was  one  of  the  Overseers  of  the  Poor — in  April  Mr.  Pike  came 
to  me,  and  said  he  had  a  girl  living  with  him,  and  did  not  know 
but  what  he  should  have  to  send  her  to  the  Alms-house — he  said 
she  behaved  so  bad,  he  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  her.  He 
came  again  and  said  we  must  take  her — said  his  wife  could  not 
stay  in  the  house  with  her  another  night — said  he  had  been  trying 
several  weeks  to  get  her  clean  and  neat  to  send  her  to  Boston — I 
gave  consent  to  have  her  carried  over  to  the  Alms-house,  and 
gave  notice  to  the  other  Overseers — they  went  to  see  Mr.  Pike 
about  the  child,  and  were  opposed  to  keeping  her — Mr.  Pike  di¬ 
rected  me  where  to  find  her  mother — and  gave  me  a  letter  from 
Mrs.  Pike  to  her,  and  asked  me  to  carry  it — I  went  to  Boston,  on 
a  Wednesday,  and  found  her  in  Myrtle  Street — I  directed  the 
superintendant  to  take  the  girl  to  Mr.  Pike’s  on  Monday,  when 
she  was  sent  to  Boston  in  the  stage. 

Cross  Examined — Mr.  Pike  said  her  habits  were  very  bad — 
dirty — could  not  keep  her  clean — that  she  would  foul  her  bed,  the 
rooms,  and  his  study — that  when  he  asked  her  why  she  did  so, 
she  would  say  because  she  was  a  bad  girl — that  Mrs.  Pike  had 
made  herself  sick  in  trying  to  take  care  of  her.  When  I  saw 
Mrs.  Howard  she  said  she  was  sorry  Mrs.  Pike  could  not  manage 
the  child — she  said  she  was  sorry  she  was  obliged  to  take  her 
home,  but  would  rather  have  her  home  than  in  the  Alms-house. 
Pike’s  own  children  used  to  come  out  with  bare  arms  when  the 
weather  was  pretty  tough — I  saw  her  start  in  the  Stage  inside — 
the  night  preceding  it  froze,  but  when  the  Stage  came  it  had 
thawed. — She  was  in  the  Alms-house  eight  days,  I  think. 


[23 


Zacheus  Gould \  one  of  the  overseers  of  the  poor] — I  saw 
Sarah  B.  Jay  at  the  alms-house  on  the  24th  of  April — she  was 
very  sickly  and  feeble — her  feet  were  wrapped  up— it  seemed  to 
hurt  her  to  walk — I  believe  she  was  taken  in  on  the  15th,  and 
taken  out  on  the  27th— -dont  know  certain — I  did  not  see  her 
till  the  Tuesday  after  she  came — On  Wednesday  we  went  to  see 
Mr  Pike  at  the  Academy — our  impression  was  that  we  had  noth¬ 
ing  to  do  with  her.  We  asked  why  he  did  not  take  her  to  Boston, 
where  she  belonged — he  said  she  would  be  a  State  pauper  there, 
and  he  had  no  right  to  take  her  there — he  refused  to  take  her 
out — said  he  could  not  be  at  any  further  trouble  or  expense  about 
her — said  again  that  he  had  no  right  to  carry  her  to  Boston 
to  become  a  State  Pauper,  any  more  than  in  Topsfield — he  said 
she  had  got  herself  reduced  by  her  bad  habits  and  will — he  said 
he  was  really  afraid  she  would  die  on  his  hands.  Mr.  Pike  said  she 
had  no  other  clothing,  but  what  she  had  on — and  said  he  had  taken 
her  destitute  and  should  return  her  so — that  he  would  speak  to  Mrs. 
Pike,  and  if  there  were  any  articles  belonging  to  the  girl  he  would  re¬ 
turn  them.  There  was  considerable  feeling  among  the  towns-peo- 
ple  about  his  turning  her  on  to  the  town,  to  be  allowed  only  28  cents 
a  week  for  keeping — for  taking  into  consideration  her  alleged  hab¬ 
its,  it  was  worth  ten  times  28  cents.  Mr.  Pike  thought  it  was  none 
of  the  people’s  business  to  enquire  about  the  alms-house,  or  who  was 
in  it — he  did  not  see  that  they  had  any  thing  to  do  with  it — the 
people  in  Boston  did  not  concern  themselves  about  such  things. 
I  told  him  that  there  was  a  difference  between  Boston  and  Tops- 
field,  which  being  a  small  place,  the  expense  were  felt  more. 

At  this  time,  Mr.  Pike  gave  me  a  more  particular  account  of  the 
girls  filthy  habits — ahd  said,  that  he  told  her  if  she  kept  leaving 
such  nastiness  about  the  house  he  did  not  know  but  that  he  would 
make  her  eat  it.  The  very  next  day,  he  said  he  found  some  in  his 
room,  or  study.  He  then  told  her  to  take  a  piece  of  the  excre¬ 
ment  and  put  it  into  her  mouth — that  she  did  so,  and  kept  it  in 
her  mouth,  and  he  didn’t  know  but  what  she  would  have  swallow¬ 
ed  it,  if  he  had  told  her  to. — He  said  she  seemed  to  be  destitute  of 
all  taste  or  feeling.  That  she  put  it  into  her  mouth  without  re¬ 
luctance.  I  think  he  said  this  was  about  a  fortnight  before  she 
went  to  the  Alms-House — Mr.  Pike  said  he  had  a  consultation  with 
Dr.  Cleaveland,  to  know  what  would  break  her  of  her  bad  habits, 
and  they  had  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  it  might  have  a  good 
effect  to  make  her  eat  some  assafatida — that  he  had  been  given 
to  a  boy  who  was  greatly  given  to  lying — he  said  he  gave  her  some 
pills  of  assafcetida — she  took  them  into  her  mouth — he  said  he 
told  her  she  must  chew  and  swallow  them,  and  that  she  did  so  as 
readily  as  if  they  were  sugar  plumbs.  When  he  said  he  had  been 
trying  for  four  or  five  weeks  to  get  her  decent,  I  replied — that 
I  did  know  why,  if  what  he  said  was  true,  she  was  not  as  decent 
at  one  time  as  another. 


24 


Joseph  Bachelder — one  of  the  overseers — heard  the  same 
description  of  the  child’s  habits — heard  Mr  Pike  say  he 
threatened  to  make  her  eat  her  own  excrement — said  that 
afterwards  he  did  tell  her  to  put  it  into  her  mouth,  and  she 
did  so,  and  held  it  there— I  dont  remember  whether  he  said  he 
told  her  to  spit  it  out ;  [the  same  as  to  the  assafoelida.]  We  tho’t 
it  rather  a  hardship  to  have  to  take  care  of  such  a  girl. 
We  told  him,  if  he  did  not  like  the  girl,  he  ought  to  carry 
her  back.  We  thought  he  was  telling  us  these  things  to 
make  us  take  the  child.  He  said  Mrs  Pike  was  worn  out, 
and  that  Mrs-  Bradstreet,  a  tenant,  complained. 

Mrs.  Bowditch — used  to  wash  for  Mrs.  Pike  in  Hancock 
street — I  heard  Mrs.  Howard  say  to  Mrs.  Pike,  that  she 
was  to  return  the  child  if  there  was  any  dissatisfaction  on 
either  side — if  either  on  ’em  didnt  like — that  was  the  bar¬ 
gain.  I  saw  the  little  girl  about  Mrs.  Pike’s — she  used  to 
scour  knives,  and  wash  potatoes,  dishes,  and  her  own 
clothes — I  was  told  not  to  wash  her  clothes,  nor  the  other 
girl’s — »he  was  very  dirty — Albert  Pike,  the  son,  would  box 
her  ears,  and  the  other  girl’s — they  would  cry — I  told  Mar¬ 
tha  Pike  of  it — but  she  would  not  believe  me,  and  I  said  no 
more  about  it — Albert  would  sometimes  take  the  cat  and 
throw  upon  her,  which  I  thought  very  wrong — she  did  every 
thing  she  was  directed  to — Martha  Pike  had  the  principal 
charge — the  conversation  between  Mrs  Howard  and  Mrs. 
Pike,  was  about  a  week  before  going  to  Topsfield.  Mrs. 
Howard  did  not  seem  to  wish  to  have  the  child  bound,  till 
she  ascertained  how  she  was  to  be  treated. 

Cross  Examined — Mrs.  Howard  said  to  me,  that  she 
thought  it  was  a  nice  place — I  did  not  say  it  wasnt — I  be¬ 
lieve  she  was  there  about  binding  the  child  once — Mrs.  Pike 
was  confined  up  stairs  sick  at  the  time  of  Albert’s  throwing 
the  cat  on  to  the  little  girl.  If  there  was  any  disagreeing 
on  any  side,  the  child  was  to  be  sent  home — Mrs.  Pike 
said  she  should  be  sent  home,  if  there  was. 

William  E.  Kimball — lives  in  Topsfield — had  seen  the 
child  at  Pike’s. 

Aaron  Averill — saw  her  at  Pike’s  door,  one  Monday 
evening  in  February — Mr.  Legg  was  with  me — she  was 
very  nasty  and  dirty  indeed — she  came  to  the  door  with  a 


25 


candle— -Legg  said  she  looked  worse  than  any  Southern 
slave — her  face  was  very  dirty. 

William  G.  Legg — remembered  the  time  Averill  referred 

— remembers  saying  she  looked  worse  than  any  Southern 
slave — I  should  think  the  dress  examined  yesterday  was  the 
same  that  she  had  on,  when  1  saw  her. 

Mr  Norris  was  re-called  to  explain  an  immaterial  point 
respecting  the  Setter  received  from  V'rs  Pike. 

Mrs  Howard,  re-called — t  have  never  stated  that  Sarah 
come  home  without  a  shirt  or  stockings — Mrs.  Colby  gave 
her  a  gingham  tyer,  and  a  yellow  shawl.  When  she  went 
away  she  had  a  change  of  linen,  but  came  back  without. 

Joseph  Mead — [keeps  West  India  Goods  store  in  Myrtle 
street] — the  child  was  the  most  miserable  and  emaciated  ob¬ 
ject  1  ever  saw — there  was  no  flesh  on  its  bones — running 
sores  on  its  feet — and  finger  very  sore — after  a  fortnight, 
she  appeared  to  be  better — saw  her  three  or  four  times — ■ 
her  head  looked  as  if  it  had  been  sore — the  hair  seemed  to 
have  been  gouged  out — little  scabs  ori  the  head.  Her 
mother  took  good  care  of  her. 

Cross-ex . — I  do  not  recollect  inviting  a  Miss  French  to 
call  and  see  her.  People  would  oftdn  come  into  my  store, 
and  ask  me  about  the  child,  ancf  I  would  say  to  them,  that 
they  had  better  go  and  see  her  themselves. 

Humphrey  G.  Hubbard — lives  in  Topsfield — saw  Sa¬ 
rah  at  the  pump  one  of  the  coldest  days  last  winter — she 
was  at  the  pump  five  minutes  or  more— and  had  on  a  j-hort- 
sleeve  gown,  and  head  and  arms  bare  1  thought  it  remark¬ 
able,  to  see  so  small  a  child  out  in  that  manner — she  was 
trying  to  pump  water  ;  there  was  something  the  matter 
with  the  pump,  and  she  could  not  bring  the  water. 

Cross-examined — I  should  think  it  vtfas  in  January,  in 
the  latter  part,  and  about  one  of  the  coldest  days — At  that 
time  I  mentioned  the  circumstance  to  Mr  Perley — I  was 
within  a  rod  of  her,  but  I  dont  recollect  whether  l  looked 
over  my  right  or  left  shoulder,  at  her. 

Abraham  Pierce— [ the  same  as  Hubbard,  as  to  the  pump, 
in  coldest  wealherj — had  a  pair  of  old  shoes  on,  not  suitable 
—with  holes  in  her  stockings,  or  else  they  were  darned 
with  white  yarn— l  did  not  perceive  that  she  walked  lame  } 

4 


26 


once  saw  her  going  from  the  house  to  the  back  house,  and 
one  of  the  boys  told  her  to  go  faster — she  said  she  couldnt. 
and  he  pushed  her  along 

Cross-examined — the  old  shoes  were  too  large  for  her 
fPet — it  made  so  much  impression  on  my  mind,  that  1  re. 
membered  it  when  l  got  home. 

Sally  Phillips — lived  in  Topsfield,  near  Mr.  Pike — at  my 
sister’s — In  December  saw  Sarah  B.  Jay  at  the  pump — had 
on  gingham  gown — bare  arms  and  head — her  shoes  badly 
worn — her  feet  were  exposed  on  the  ground,  which  was 
covered  with  snow  ;  saw  her  several  times  a  day.  One 
forenoon.  I  saw  her  at  the  pump  six  times,  in  ihe  cold 
weather;  she  appeared  to  do  it  with  great  difficulty  ;  1  have 
seen  her  with  two  buckets  at  a  time.  I  spoke  of  it  to  a 
number  at  the  time. 

Cross  examined — 1  saw  her  one  time  when  1  was  in  the 
street,  and  at  other  times  through  my  sister’s  window.  It 
was  in  December,  that  I  was  in  the  street  and  saw  her  ;  I 
turned  round  and  looked  at  her  ;  I  paused  ;  1  was  not  more 
than  a  rod  from  her  ;  she  was  pumping  water  ;  she  started 
from  the  pump,  as  I  stopped  ;  she  went  lame  some  ;  I  know 
her  stockings  had  holes  in  them,  when  I  stood  looking  at 
them  ;  I  saw  her  naked  toes  ;  as  she  turned  from  the  pump 
she  faced  me  ;  her  toes  passed  through  the  leather  ;  the 
weather  was  cold  ;  and  some  snow  on  the  ground.  What 
made  me  so  particular  was,  I  thought  it  was  too  much  for 
her  to  do.  [Several  irrelevant  questions  were  put  to  this 
witness  about  her  mother’s  death,  kc.  but  becoming  faint, 
her  further  cross  examination  was  suspended,  and  she  re¬ 
tired  from  the  court  room,  and  was  not  again  called  to  the 
stand.] 

Dr.  Strong — [of  Boston]  ;  called  on  Sarah  B.  Jay  on 
Saturday  afternoon,  after  reading  the  article  in  the  Morning 
Post  ;  it  was  the  first  Saturday  in  May;  I  had  procured  a 
girl  for  Mr.  Pike,  and  did  not  know  but  this  might  be  the 
one,  and  I  thought  I  would  see  about  it  ;  I  found  her  lying 
in  bed  ;  her  stomach  and  bowels  were  very  much  deranged, 
I  am  satisfied  ;  1  could  not  help  being  struck  with  one  cir¬ 
cumstance  which  appeared  to  me  to  be  very  remarkable  : 
when  I  first  attempted  to  examine  her,  she  manifested  the 
greatest  symptoms  of  suffering,  but  all  at  once  they  sub- 


27 


sided,  and  she  submitted  quietly;  I  really  thought  it  some- 
thing  very  singular;  I  was  unwell,  and  did  not  make  much 
examination,  the  first  time  ;  she  had  some  cough  ;  I  asked 
Dr.  Jackson  to  go  with  me  the  second  lime;  we  were 
obliged  to  use  percussion  ;  she  complained  a  good  doal,  but 
after  the  first  got  over  it ;  the  mass  of  the  disease  was  in  the 
abdomen,  and  I  thought  the  liver  was  enlarged  ;  stomach 
and  bowels  very  much  disordered  ;  her  feet  laboring  under 
ulceration  from  chilblains;  the  feet  had  not  been  frozen;  I 
have  seen  limbs  which  had  been  frozen,  and  there  is  a  red- 
ness,  and  swelling  and  extreme  tenderness;  but  in  this  case 
there  were  none  of  these  appearances,  but  simply  chilblains. 
Upon  stripping  her,  found  no  marks  of  bruises.  I  supposed 
the  child  was  sick  in  the  ordinary  Providence  of  God  ;  I 
have  never  seen  a  child  with  chilblains  so  bad  before; 
they  are  very  painful  before  they  ulcerate;  I  have  known 
them  to  lay  people  up.  I  thought  she  had  a  scrofulous  tem¬ 
perament,  or  habit;  In  such  habits,  the  local  health  cannot 
be  restored  until  the  constitutional  health  is  established ; 
there  is  an  appearance  of  the  skin  by  which  we  judge  of 
a  scrofulous  temperament.  The  feet  would  have  contra¬ 
dicted  all  my  experience,  if  they  had  been  frost-bitten  ; 
I  thought  the  child  required  an  alterative  treatment;  1  saw 
nothing  from  which  I  should  infer  bad  treatment;  I  think  I 
have  seen  cases,  generally  resembling  this,  where  there  has 
been  the  kindest  treatment.  There  is  nothing  more  irritat¬ 
ing  to  chilblains  than  urine.  I  went  there  with  the  deter¬ 
mination  of  not  hearing  what  was  said;  I  did  not  give  Mrs. 
Howard  to  understand  what  1  thought  of  the  child’s  state; 
I  answered  her  inquiries  as  vaguely  as  I  could  ;  I  told  her, 
I  think,  that  the  sores  on  the  feet  were  from  chilblains. 
During  the  time  I  was  attending  her,  I  was  myself  taken 
down  with  the  variolid,  and  was  attended  by  Dr.  Shattuck, 
and  often  thought  of  asking  him  to  attend  to  the  child,  but 
it  always  slipped  my  mind,  when  he  was  present.  I  was 
finally  taken  down  to  Rainsford  Island. 

Dr  Shattuck — [of  Boston,  called  by  the  plaintiff]  1  had 
heard,  that  a  child  had  been  abused,  and  was  asked  to  go 
and  see  it,  but  1  refused  to  go  until  I  recived  a  letter  from 
Mr  Pike,  to  visit  it  ;  I  went  In  consequence  of  the  popu¬ 
lar  rumours,  hot  and  strong,  that  were  raging  like  an  all- 
consuming  fire  over  the  reputation  of  the  poor  Schoolmaster, 


28 


Master  Pike,  as  we  used  to  call  him  twenty  years  ago,  I 
thought  the  best  refutation  of  the  calumnies  that  were  over¬ 
whelming  him,  would  be  to  set  the  poor  cripple  to  walk  ;  and 
1  verily  believed  that  when  the  little  cripple  was  seed 
Walking  about,  the  rumours  so  disadvantageous  to  my  friend 
.Mr  Pike,  would  die  away  like  a  nine  days’  wonder.  I 
first  examined  the  feet,  which  I  expected  to  find  in  a  bad 
state,  and  found  that  they  seemed  to  have  been  affected  with 
cold,  and  there  was  a  sore  on  the  little  toe  ;  but  there  Was 
deep  disease  in  its  stomach  and  bowels,  compared  with 
which  the, sore  feet,  or  the  loss  of  a  toe,  would  be  but  as  a 
drop  in  the  bucket*  There  was  deep  disease  in  the  abdo¬ 
minal  viscera,  which  required  the  most  active  and  expensive 
medicines,  and  the  best  skill  of  the  physician.  Heats  and 
colds  are  the  exciting  causes  of  that  disease.  There  was 
nothing  associated  with  the  appearances,  to  indicate  abuse, 
at  the  time  I  saw  the  child.  1  think  it  was  two  or  three 
days  after  Dr.  Strong’s  last  visit  that  1  saw  her  first.  She 
was  then  labouring  under  deep  disease  of  a  chronic  charac¬ 
ter  ;  it  was  evidently  a  case  of  deep-toned  suffering  ;  there 
Was  great  morbid  irritability  ;  her  legs  were  thin — spare  $ 
and  she  was  very  much  emaciated.  I  have  attended  Mr 
Pike’s  family,  at  different  times,  in  Boston  ;  I  cannot  say 
how  often,  for  the  instructor  of  youth  and  the  preacher  of 
the  Gospel,  f  never  made  a  mark  against  from  the  first  day 
1  commenced  the  practice  of  my  profession.  Alternations 
of  heat  and  cold  are  a  sufficient  cause  of  chilblains  ;  I  pre¬ 
scribed  for  her  feet  creosote ,  so  called  from  the  Greek,  and 
s  gnifying  flesh-healer .  I  inquired  into  the  disease  of  her 
father,  and  I’m  quite  sure  her  mother  told  me  that  he  died 
of  a  scrofulous  consumption.  I  could  not  judge  how  long 
she  had  been  sick. 

Cross  examined.  1  usually  saw  the  child  in  bed.  I  con¬ 
sidered  its  diseased  feet  as  trifling,  compared  with  its  deep 
seated  disease  in  the  abdominal  viscera.  I  considered  its 
life  in  danger,  and  as  I  before  observed,  she  required  the 
best  medical  advice. 

[The  close  of  this  day  was  taken  up  by  a  further  ex¬ 
amination  of  witnesses  respecting  Mr  Pike’s  character  as 
as  a  schoolmaster. — Sec  page  9.] 


29 


Thursday,  JYov.  26. 

Witnesses  called  by  the  Plaintiff  to  rebut  the  Testimony  in¬ 
troduced  by  the  Defendants  to  sustain  their  charges  against 

Mr  Pike. 

Mrs  GW  Zr?— wife  of  the  keeper  of  the  Topsfield  alms¬ 
house— ‘Sometime  last  year,  Me  Pike  brought  Sarah  B.  Jay 
to  the  alms-holise — Mrs  Pike  and  a  little  boy  came  with 
them— was  comfortably  clad — bad  a  factory  gingham  gown, 
short  sleeves,  white  woollen  stockings — a  woollen  skirt,  a 
Warm  one— shoes  good,  but  run  down  to  heel— and  a  good 
shawl.— She  looked  pale,  and  was  not  fleshy — the  child 
was  pleased — we  have  feather  beds,  coffee  in  the  morning, 
maet  at  dinner,  milk  at  tea.  The  girl  was  lively  and  low 
alternately — would  be  playing  with  the  children,  and  all  at 
once,  would  be  down  sick— she  often  wanted  to  sing.  Pve 
seen  sorer  feet  before. 

Cross-examined. —  I  furnished  her  shoes  that  kept  up  at 
the  heel — I  furnished  her  a  change  of  linen — Mr  kike  left 
uo  clothing  for  her* — the  nail  part  of  her  little  toe  was  gone 
' — the  others  were  sore.  When  she  left  the  almo-house,  I 
put  on  her  old  shoes.  1  never  washed  her  feet,  but  I  fur¬ 
nished  her  with  warm  soap-suds  to  wash  them  with  herself — 
I  took  off  the  cloths,  and  put  them  on  again  for  her — I 
Would  ‘ometimes  stand  by  and  see  her  wash  them  in  the 
warm  suds,  but  put  nothing  else  on  them — no  ointment. 
At  times  she  appeared  as  well  as  the  other  children,  then 
she  would  say  she  was  sick,  and  complain  of  her  stomach, 
and  1  would  give  her  molasses  and  water.  She  said  she 
was  sick,  but  1  think  she  made  it,  because  if  she  had  been 
sick  she  could  not  have  eaten  as  she  did,  and  played.  At 
first  I  1  bought  she  was  sick,  and  gave  her  the  molasses  and 
water,  but  afterwards  I  did  not  give  her  any.  I  did  nothing 
for  her  in  consequence  of  her  complaining  of  being  sick 
She  would,  after  playing  in  the  kitchen,  come  to  me,  and 
ask  to  sit  in  my  room,  because  she  said  the  children  made 
too  much  noise  in  the  kitchen.  I  did  not  allow  her  to  sit  in 
my  room  when  she  asked  to.  Once  or  twice  she  sat  there, 
when  she  did  a  little  sewing  for  me,  but  not  at  any  other 
time.  She  would  play  for  hours,  and  then  in  a  few  minutes 
would  be  asleep — she  had  rags  on  her  feet  when  she  came, 
and  I  put  on  other  ones.  She  wet  them  two  or  three  times, 
and  dirtied  her  clothes  once.  There  were  lousy  people  in 


the  alms-house — 1  combed  her  head,  when  she  first  came, 
but  found  no  lice  upon  her, 

Thomas  Gould — [keeper  of  the  alms-house.]  She  had 
a  cloak,  when  Mr  Pike  brought  her,  which  he  carried  back 
—  Mr  Pike  said  she  had  conducted  in  such  a  way  as  to 
spoil  most  of  her  other  clothes,  but  I  might  have  what  was 
left  by  sending  for  them.  She  looked  pale  and  thin,  sore 
feet,  &c. — She  would  eat  hearty  when  there  was  meat,  but 
did  not  seem  to  eat  the  bread  and  milk  so  well.  We  did  not 
consider  that  she  was  sick  ;  was  lively  and  would  play  and 
sing  some.  When  she  went  away,  her  feet  were  getting 
better — I  did  not  think  she  required  a  physician — If  1  had 
thought  so,  I  should  have  sent  for  one.  She  defiled  herself 
a  few  times,  but  not  much  after  I  spoke  to  her. — She  wet 
the  floor  once,  and  laid  it  to  a  small  boy.  The  day  of  her 
departure  from  the  alms  house  was  pleasant — 1  believe  she 
was  there  eight  or  nine  days — I  left  her  at  Mr  Pike’s,  for 
the  stage  to  take  her. 

Cross-ex. — The  pumps  she  had  on  were  not  suitable  for 
well  feet,  but  were  better  for  her  sore  feet  than  another 
pair — they  were  flat  down  at  the  heel,  as  if  worn  down 
— we  put  on  a  stouter  pair,  that  we  could  get  on  to  her  heel 
— when  she  went  off,  we  stuck  her  feet  into  the  pair  fur¬ 
nished  by  Pike,  and  carried  her  off  in  that  state.  Both  the 
children  and  the  old  folks  in  the  alms-house  had  lice  in  their 
heads.  She  complained  of  her  stomach — I  dont  recollect 
that  any  prescription  was  made  for  her — the  child  was 
pretty  thin,  much  thinner  than  the  other  children.  I  put 
a  shawl  around  her,  and  took  her  over  to  Mr  Pike’s,  in  an 
open  wagon,  and  brought  the  shawl  back.  I  never  went  to 
Pike  for  the  clothes,  nor  he  never  sent  any.  I  never  saw 
that  she  had  any  bodilv  disease  about  her — at  times  she 
would  al Iter  her  voice,  and  talk  in  a  whining  tone  of  voice. 

Jacob  Te«ne?/-[stage-driver] — 1  carried  the  girl  to  Boston 
from  Mr  Pike’s — I  think  it  was  a  warm  pleasant  day;  I  told 
Mrs  Pike.  I  thought  it  was  not  necessary  to  put  a  cloak  on  her 
when  she  asked  me — that  her  shawl  would  be  enough  as  it  was 
wa  rn  pleasant  day — she  did  not  complain,  but  looked  pale 
and  sickly — she  was  bright  and  lively  on  the  road — and  I 
heard  her  singing — there  were  other  passengers  in  and  at 
Lynn  I  told  her  to  keep  still.  When  we  got  to  Boston,  I 
did  not  mind  that  she  had  any  difficulty  in  walking. 


31 


Cross-examined. — I  recollect  it  was  muddy — the  sun 
shone — 1  have  no  recollection  that  any  request  was  made  to 
have  any  one  look  after  her — 1  think  1  did  not  drive  up  to 
the  door  with  the  child,  but  stopped  at  the  corner,  and  set 
her  down  on  the  sidewalk — two  women,  1  think,  were  com¬ 
ing  out  of  the  house  in  Myrtle  street,  to  receive  her,  when 
I  left  her. 

Dr  Stone — I  saw  the  child  the  day  she  went  to  the  alms¬ 
house,  accidentally,  as  she  was  leaving  Sir  Pike’s  house — - 
0  I  made  no  examination  regarding  her  health ;  out  seeing 
that  she  was  pale  and  much  emaciated,  1  looked  at  her 
tongue- — it  was  perfectly  clean,  and  I  perceived  no  indica¬ 
tions  of  disease  about  it- 

Cross-examined. — I  was  not  sent  for  to  see  the  child — 1  # 
happened  into  Mr  Pike’s  accidentally. 

Jliss  Hannah  French — [teacher  of  a  female  school  -in 
Boston] — 1  live  in  the  next  street  to  the  child’s  mother — 
saw  the  child  soon  after  she  returned — I  had  a  particular 
request,  through  my  father,  from  Mr  Slead,  to  see  the  child 
— I  expected  to  find  her  in  the  last  stage  of  consumption, 
but  I  found  that  she  was  not  worse  than  many  children, 
who  have  had  the  best  of  treatment.  The  mother  de¬ 
clined  removing  the  bandages,  because  it  would  give  her 
child  so  much  pain,  but  she  showed  me  a  part  of  the  toe, 
and  gave  me  to  understand  that  all  the  rest  were  as  bad 
as  that.  The  mother  said  the  feet  were  frozen  ;  I  went 
there  again  afterwards  in  company  with  Dr  Strong.  I  saw 
the  feet  then,  and  I  was  very  much  surprised  that  they 
were  so  well  as  they  appeared  to  be — 1  w  s  convinced 
they  were  chilblains,  and  said  so  to  Dr  Strong — 1  had  been 
led  to  expect  the  whole  feet  as  bad  as  the  toe.  I  was  very 
much  astonished  at  discovering  the  artifice  and  cunning  of 
the  child  in  affecting  weakness — I  would  sometimes  find 
her  sitting  up,  lively  and  eating,  and  when  she  observed 
me,  would  assume  the  airs  of  languor  [here  Miss  French 
gave  an  imitation  of  the  child’s  supposed  languid  affecta¬ 
tions.]  I  would  go  in  three  or  four  times  a  day  and  discover 
those  marks  of  affectation.  Three  or  four  weeks  after  she 
came  to  Boston,  I  saw  her  playing  in  the  street,  and  I  said 
to  her,  “  you  are  not  so  sick  then,  little  girl,  as  you  were,” 
but  she  made  me  no  answer,  and  ran  into  the  house  The 
mother  told  me,  that  unless  the  passengers  had  put  some 


32 


things  on  her  she  must  have  suffered.  The  mother  said 
the  child  was  comfortably  clad,  when  she  went  to  Mr  Pike, 
but  she  came  back  very  thinly  clad,  and  said  .Mrs  Pike  had 
kept  back  a  black  silk  gown  she  had  when  she  went  away. 

1  had  all  the  excited  feelings  of  the  neighborhood  against 
Mr  Pike,  when  I  went  to  the  house  to  see  the  child  first. 

]  have  charge  of  a  female  school. 

Cross  Examined  — I  live  about  the  16th  part  of  a  mile 
from  Mrs.  Howard. — When  I  went  there  first,  I  found  the 
mother,  and  her  children  and  an  interfering  old  woman,  i 
who  answered  the  questions  for  the  child,  and  remarked  about 
the  case — the  little  girl  was  sitting  in  a  chair — when  I  vis¬ 
ited  her  I  usually  found  her  eating — either  an  orange,  or 
%  cake,  or  pie — I  did  not  examine  her  arms,  or  body  to  see  if 
she  was  emaciated — 1  saw  the  side  of  her  foot — it  was  not 
in  so  high  a  state  of  inflammation  as  I  have  seen — I  have 
had  chilblains  as  bad  myself — the  ulcer  extended  from  the 
side  of  the  foot  to  the  toe — I  did  not  notice  that  a  joint  of 
her  toe  was  gone.  Her  feet  were  not  in  so  bad  a  state,  to 
look  at,  as  her  eyes  now  are  in,  from  the  abuse  of  her  mother, 

I  suppose.  The  child  looked  pale  and  languid.  On  my 
first  visit  my  sympathy  was  much  excited — I  thought  she 
had  been  abused — l  visited  her  the  next  day,  once  or  twice. 
Perhaps  on  the  fourth  or  fifth  day,  1  discovered  the  imposi¬ 
tion  of  the  child — I  was  disgusted  with  the  deceit  practised. 
Mr.  Mead  showed  me  a  piece  in  the  paper,  and  said  there 
ought  to  be  something  about  Mr.  Pike  right  under  it — I  told 
him  to  be  careful — Says  I  to  him,  “Mr.  Mead,  be  careful  ; 
be  careful  what  you  are  about  ;  this  affair  will  be  investiga¬ 
ted — you  dont  know  the  truth  of  this  matter  yet,  perhaps.’* 

1  thought  the  child  out  of  health,  but  not  alarmingly  sick — 
there  was  great  excitement  among  the  neighbors,  and  the 
mother  and  the  talking  old  woman  used  every  means  to  in¬ 
crease  the  excitement.  People  were  expected  to  make 
themselves  welcome — I  carried  something — I  cant  say  now 
what  it  was — I  do  not  charge  my  memory  with  such  things. 

Saltonstu.ll. — While  you  were  thus  obeying  the  Christian- 
injunction,  of  not  letting  your  right  hand  know  what  your 
left  was  doing,  did  you  think  the  child  was  an  imposter  ? 

[The  witness  does  not  answer,  but  stands  mute.] 

Sallonstall.-—  Did  you  discover  that  she  was  an  impostoc 
before  or  after  you  carried  that  “  something  ?” 


33 


Miss  French.-~-l  gradually  discovered  that  she  was  de¬ 
ceitful.  I  stated  to  my  own  family  my  opinion,  but  did  not 
disclose  it  at  the  child’s  house,  or  to  her  mother.  I  continu¬ 
ed  to  visit  there  often. 

Saltonstall. — If  you  believed  her  to  be  an  impostor,  what 
was  your  motive  for  continuing  your  visits  ? 

Miss  French. — I  possess  a  persevering  disposition,  and 
when  I  undertake  any  thing  I  like  to  go  through  with  it,  and 
I  was  determined  to  find  out  if  she  was  an  impostor. 

Saltonstall. — Then  you  went  for  the  amiable  motive  of 
detecting  her,  did  you  ? 

[The  witness  returns  no  answer.] 

Saltonstall  — Can  you  recollect  how  many  times  you  went 
for  that  amiable  purpose — was  it  three,  four,  five,  or  six 
times  ? 

Choate — -Your  honor,  I  declare  I  must  interfere  for  the 
protection  of  that  lady. 

Saltonstall. — And  I  must  have  an  answer — I  expect  the 
lady  knows  for  what  purpose  she  is  called  upon  that  stand. 

Miss  French. — I  expect  I  have  got  to  tell  the  truth. 

Saltonstall. — Well,  how  long  did  you  continue  to  go 
there  ? 

Miss  French. — For  three  or  four  weeks. 

Saltonstall  — When  did  you  tell  Mr.  Mead  this  matter 
was  to  be  investigated  ? 

Miss  French. — I  gave  the  caution  to  Mr.  Mead  the  day 
the  piece  came  out  in  the  paper — it  was  before  Dr.  Strong 
visited  the  child — Dr.  Strong  went  that  afternoon. 

Mrs.  Cushing — saw  the  child  on  the  2d  of  May — was 
surprised  to  see  her  so  well,  after  what  I  had  heard — I 
thought  her  health  feeble,  but  she  had  an  appetite  ;  I  saw 
her  twice  ;  the  second  time  she  was  eating  some  gruel,  with 
a  cracker  in  it.  The  mother  said  she  wore  home  but  two 
articles  of  dress,  and  that  the  driver  or  passengers  in  the 
stage  offered  her  clothes.  I  said  to  the  mother,  {J providen¬ 
tially  it  was  a  warm  day.”  She  said  the  child  had  a  silk 
dress  and  one  or  two  silk  dress  aprons  from  Mrs.  Colby, 
which  she  had  not  brought  back.  I  saw  the  child  very  soon 
in  the  street,  considering  what  they  said  of  her  illness,  and 
I  told  the  child  so.  I  said  to  her,  I  was  surprised  to  see  her 
out  so  soon. 

Cross  Examined. — I  thought  the  child  was  very  feeble, 


34 


but  she  appeared  to  have  a  good  appetite.  The  mother 
stripped  up  her  night  dress  sleeve,  and  she  appeared  ema¬ 
ciated.  The  mother  said  she  had  no  petticoat  on,  when  she 
came  back. 

Mrs.  Martha  Williams. — [Mrs.  Pike’s  mother;]  I  was 
taken  suddenly  unwell  last  Saturday  ;  I  recollect  when 
Benizette  [Sarah  B.  Jay’s  middle  name]  came  ;  I  was  below 
almost  every  day  ;  Mrs.  Pike  was  not  sick  for  three  or  four 
days  before  we  left  Boston  ;  Sarah’s  work  was  to  help  wash 
dishes,  sweep  up  kitchen,  scour  knives,  &ic.  Ever  since  I 
resided  in  the  family,  I  have  had  the  entire  care  of  mending 
the  stockings,  Sarah’s  among  the  rest,  up  to  the  time  she 
left,  and  I  have  remarked  that  the  toes  of  them  were  gener¬ 
ally  better  than  most  of  the  others  ;  she  had  three  woollen 
pairs  ;  I  saw  the  girl  every  day  almost ;  never  saw  her  out 
doors  with  her  toes  out,  or  in  the  house ;  never  noticed  her 
shoes  particularly  ;  they  were  thick  ;  after  her  feet  became 
sore,  she  complained  her  shoes  were  too  small,  and  she  then 
wore  one  shoe,  and  one  India  rubber  ;  I  have  often  heard 
Mrs.  Pike  forbid  her  to  go  out  for  water  ;  it  was  a  standing 
rule  that  she  should  not  go  for  water  ;  her  feet  were  then 
sore  ;  never  saw  her  go  for  water  ;  the  other  girl  went  for 
the  water  ;  never  saw  more  then  one  pail  used  for  bringing 
water  ;  Benizette  was  as  well  dressed  as  the  other  girl  ;  had 
a  comfortable  woollen  skirt ;  three  calico  gowns,  beside  a 
gingham  one  ;  had  a  silk  dress  made  up  in  Boston  ;  I  have 
heard  Mrs.  Pike  speak  to  Benizette  about  her  dresses,  which 
were  not  made  up  ;  they  were  basted  together  ;  Mrs.  Pike 
used  to  tell  Benizette  she  should  have  them  if  she  behaved 
well. 

Benizette  slept  in  the  middle  chamber  of  the  3d  story, 
with  the  other  Sarah  ;  Benizette  and  Sarah  slept  together  a 
number  of  weeks  ;  one  morning  I  found  Sarah  sleeping  out¬ 
side  the  clothes,  because  there  was  both  wet  and  filth  in 
the  bed.  Then  the  straw  bed  was  taken  out,  and  made  up 
by  the  side  of  the  other  one  ;  it  wTas  doubled  ;  she  had  two 
sheets,  a  blanket,  and  a  woollen  quilt  twice  doubled  ;  and 
there  was  a  quantity  of  bed  cfothes  in  the  chamber  besides. 
I  have  heard  Mrs.  Pike  repeatedly  ask  Sarah  to  see  that  Be¬ 
nizette  was  tucked  up  comfortably  ;  this  was  after  Benizette 
kept  herself  continually  in  a  bad  state  ;  both  of  wet  and 
filth  ;  those  habits  continued  as  long  as  she  staid  there.  Mr. 


and  Mrs.  Pike  talked  to  her  and  tried  to  persuade  her  ; 
Mr.  Pike  whipped  her  with  a  small  rod  ;  seen  him  shake, 
her  and  box  her  ears  ;  she  left  her  filth  in  the  chambers,  in 
Mr.  Pike’s  study  and  in  the  stairs  ;  she  come  down  one  morning 
with  her  hair,  cheeks,  eye,  and  edge  of  mouth  covered  with 
it.  As  soon  as  she  was  cleaned,  in  an  hour  or  two  she  would 
be  wet  and  filthy  again  ;  her  feet  had  bandages  part  of  the 
time ;  her  food  was  the  same  generally  as  the  rest  of  the 
family  ;  she  was  not  required  to  w  ork,  they  only  wanted  her 
to  behave  decently. 

Cross  examined. — I  have  s«en  her  go  for  water,  and 
have  heard  her  called  back ;  she  was  active  in  doing  more 
than  was  required  of  her;  to  be  sure  she  did  a  great  deal 
more  than  was  wanted  of  her ;  It  was  six  and  might  have 
been  ten  weeks,  when  she  felPinto  those  disgusting  habits. 
She  was  often  sent  to  her  chamber  and  told  to  stay  there, 
because  she  was  not  fit  to  be  seen  ;  perhaps  an  hour  at  a 
time  ;  not  to  my  knowledge,  a  day  or  a  day  and  a  half  a 
time  ;  I  cant  say  but  what  I  heard  Mr.  Pike  say  he  had 
sent  her  down  into  the  cellar  for  exercise  ;  perhaps  two  or 
three  weeks  before  she  went  to  the  poor  house  ;  dont  know 
how  long  Mr.  Pike  kept  her  there  ;  she  never  went  to  meet¬ 
ing  nor  Sunday  school ;  she  appeared  to  have  her  health,  but 
was  pale  and  emaciated  ;  I  dont  know  that  any  one  had  the 
care  of  her  before  she  left ;  when  questioned  she  would  say 
she  didn’t  want  to  be  a  good  girl ;  I  saw  Mr.  Pike  adminis¬ 
ter  the  assafeetida  ;  he  gave  her  a  little  piece  ;  told  her  to 
chaw  it  up  ;  said  it  would  do  her  good  ;  I  did  not  see  that 
she  made  much  objection  ;  heard  it  was  not  a  great  while 
before  she  went  to  the  Alms-House  ;  I  dont  recollect  ever 
hearing  Mr,  Pike  threaten  to  put  a  hot  fire  shovel  to  her 
body  ;  I  dont  remember  that  she  ever  hid  herself  in  my 
closet ;  she  often  staid  in  my  chamber. 

Sarah  Knowlton — lives  in  Mr,  Pike’s  family;  I  heard 
Benizette’s  mother  tell  Mrs.  Pike,  that  she  had  a  bad  temper, 
and  she  wished  her  to  conquer  it  [the  witness  confirmed  in 
every  particular  the  testimony  of  the  preceding  witness  res¬ 
pecting  her  clothes  and  said]  I  had  out-grown  my  silk  gown 
and  it  was  made  up  for  her  in  Boston  ;  Mrs.  Pike  furnished 
her  with  a  calico,  and  gingham  gown,  but  would  not  have 
them  made  up,  because  she  was  so  dirty  ;  little  Joseph  was 
clothed  no  better  ;  his  skirt  was  not  so  thick  and  warm  as 


.‘56 


hers.  They  bought  her  a  pair  of  calfskin  shoes,  and  she 
wore  them  till  her  feet  got  so  bad,  that  she  could  not  wear 
them  any  longer ;  she  then  wore  an  old  pair,  but  there  was 
no  holes  in  them  ;  she  was  not  allowed  to  go  for  water  at  all 
after  her  feet  got  so  bad  ;  she  never  took  two  pails,  because 
we  had  but  one  which  we  used  to  bring  water.  Her  feet 
were  washed  in  warm  water  and  rum  ;  1  used  to  attend  to 
her  feet  ;  put  on  cold  cream  once  ;  she  kept  her  feet  wet 
most  all  the  time  ;  her  food  was  the  same  as  the  rest  of  the 
family  ;  except  when  she  had  been  taking  salts,  when  Mrs. 
Pike  made  gruel  for  her. 

She  used  to  leave  her  filth  in  every  part  of  the  house,  and 
in  Mr  Pike’s  study — sometimes  she  would  say  she  did  it 
because  she  was  a  bad  girl — sometimes  she  would  say  she 
did  not  want  to  go  out  because  she  was  ugly — sometimes  I 
would  go  out  with  her,  and  stay  a  good  while,  and  she 
would  not  do  any  thing,  and  as  soon  as  she  got  back  to  the 
house  would  dirt  herself — On  the  morning  she  went  away 
to  the  alms-house,  the  same  thing  happened,  while  I  was 
dressing  her  by  the  fire  in  the  kitchen. 

Sometimes  Mrs.  Pike  would  not  let  her  have  any  cake, 
or  pie,  or  any  dainties,  and  would  say  she  should  not  have 
them  until  she  behaved  better,  and  was  clean.  [The  witness 
stated,  that  the  child  would  tear  up  her  linen,  and  the 
sheets  from  her  bed,  and  from  the  witness’  bed,  and  roll  up 
her  filth  in  the  pieces,  and  throw  them  into  the  cockloft, 
behind  the  boys  trunks,  »n  their  chambers,  and  between  the 
sacking  and  tick  of  the  witness’  bed.  On  the  point  of  the 
child’s  habits,  the  testimony  of  Mrs.  Williams,  Miss  Pike, 
and  the  witness  corresponded  in  every  particular.  They  all 
stated  that  there  was  no  fire  kept  in  the  chamber  in  which 
the  child  and  the  witness  slept.] 

Cross  examined. — Nothing  of  her  foul  habits  in  Boston  ; 
not  till  eight  weeks  after  we  got  to  Topsfield  ;  Mr.  Pike 
would  slap  her  ears  ;  once  he  sent  her  into  the  cellar  for  ex¬ 
ercise,  he  said  ;  Mrs.  Pike  would  order  her  into  her  own 
chamber  to  keep  out  of  the  way  till  the  boys  went  to  school ; 
she  did  not  go  to  meeting,  nor  Sunday  school  ;  nor  I  till 
after  she  left;  once  she  complained  of  being  sick  in  her 
stomach  and  said  she  had  the  head  ache  ;  she  was  kept  in 
her  chamber  all  day,  and  Mrs.  Pike  gave  her  an  emetic  ;  no 
physician  was  ever  sent  for  ;  her  appetite  very  great,  and  in- 


37 


creased ;  although  she  continued  to  increase  in  eating  she 
lost  flesh  ;  when  Samuel  was  sick  he  was  as  pale  and  thin 
as  she  was  ;  he  had  the  doctor  ;  her  bed  was  not  moved  or 
changed  after  the  first  three  or  four  days  ;  the  sheets  used 
to  be  dried,  and  the  sun  used  to  shine  on  her  bed  as  it  lay. 
She  had  seven  thicknesses  on  her  bed  for  covering.  She 
was  only  deprived  of  meat  when  taking  medicine  ;  I  re¬ 
member  one  night  when  she  escaped  from  the  cellar,  and 
hid  herself  away  in  a  closet  in  Mrs.  Williams’  chamber  ;  we 
missed  her  at  supper  ;  there  was  a  great  uproar  and  excite¬ 
ment  ;  it  was  after  nine  when  she  was  discovered  ;  one  of 
the  boys  heard  her  breathing  in  the  closet ;  it  was  a  very 
small  one,  and  she  had  got  under  a  shelf,  and  was  not  seen 
the  first  time  the  closet  was  opened  ;  I  do  not  remember 
that  Mr.  Pike  sent  for  some  rum  to  pour  unto  her  sores 
after  we  found  her ;  I  dont  remember  that  he  ever  threaten 
her  with  a  hot  shovel ;  Mr.  Pike  did  nothing  but  talk  to 
her,  when  she  came  out ;  Mrs.  Pike  gave  her  salts  because 
she  was  very  humory  indeed.  She  was  deprived  of  pie  or 
cake  sometimes,  after  she  had  behaved  ill,  which  was  not  till 
as  much  as  eight  weeks.  It  was  not  very  frequently  that 
she  had  to  live  on  water  grueh 

Miss  Martha  Pike — [daughter  of  the  Plaintiff]— mothe  r 
was  not  sick  just  before  she  left  Boston  ;  it  was  about  fonr 
or  five  weeks;  Mrs.  Howard  came  just  after;  I  heard  her 
say  that  Sarah  [called  Benizette  by  Mr.  Williams,  and  the 
other  Sarah]  had  a  bad  temper ;  or  an  ugly  temper  ;  I  re¬ 
member  particularly,  that  once  her  mother  asked  my  moth¬ 
er,  if  she  had  seen  any  thing  of  her  bad  temper,  and  mother 
said  no  :  her  mother  said  she  always  had  sore  feet  in  the 
winter,  and  said  she  was  laid  up  three  weeks,  the  winter 
before  ;  when  we  left  her  father  bought  her  a  box  of  ointment 
for  her  feet.  The  shoes  she  wore  away  were  dancing  pumps 
that  belonged  to  one  of  the  boys  ;  he  only  wore  them  two 
or  three  times  ;  we  sent  out  to  get  a  pair  to  suit  her  on  ac¬ 
count  of  her  sore  heels,  but  could  not  find  any ;  the  pumps 
were  put  down  at  the  heel  on  account  of  her  sores  ;  she  had 
a  pair  of  India  rubbers  too,  for  the  same  reason  ;  she  al¬ 
ways  liked  to  pump,  though  not  allowed  to  after  her  feet 
were  sore  ;  she  ate  the  same  kind  of  food  as  the  rest,  only 
more.  I  have  often  heard  mother  give  Sarah  directions  to 
cover  up  Benizette,  because  she  used  to  go  to  bed  early. 


38 


[The  witness  gave  the  same  account  of  the  child’s  personal 
habits  as  the  other  witnesses ;  she  also  confirmed  them  in 
every  particular  respecting  the  child’s  clothes  and  bed  cov¬ 
ering.] 

Cross  Examined — Her  feet  were  quite  sore  a  number  of 
weeks  ;  were  better  when  she  went  away  than  before ;  9he 
appeared  to  be  very  well  when  she  came ;  not  very  well 
when  she  went  away  ;  would  complain  in  the  morning  of 
headache,  and  then  eat  a  hearty  breakfast ;  we  did  not 
think  she  needed  a  physician.  I  have  seen  father  whip  her 
with  a  stick  ;  once  two  mornings  running ;  this  was  two  or 
three  weeks  before  she  left.  I  remember  when  she  was 
found  in  the  closet;  she  was  always  sent  up  stairs,  except 
when  the  boys  were  in  school ;  when  they  went  to  school 
she  was  called  down,  and  sent  up  again  at  the  intermissions, 
so  that  the  boys  should  not  see  her.  It  was  at  the  end  of 
January,  or  the  beginning  of  F ebruary.  The  morning  Beni- 
zette  came  to  our  house  from  the  Alms-house,  to  go  to  Bos¬ 
ton,  I  did  up  her  clothes  in  a  bundle  ;  My  mother  knew  of 
it ;  my  father  was  in  school  ;  I  did  them  up  while  Benizette 
was  there  ;  I  laid  them  by  her  side  in  the  kitchen,  while  she 
was  waiting  for  the  stage.  She  went  without  them ;  they 
were  entirely  forgotten  till  after  the  stage  had  gone  ;  there 
were  three  calico  dresses,  one  skirt,  two  pair  of  stockings, 
pantalettes,  several  aprons  and  linens. 

Sarah  Knowlion  re-called — I  saw  the  bundle  of  clothes 
in  the  kitchen  ;  they  were  done  up  in  brown  paper,  and 
tied  with  twine. 

Joseph  Ware — Boarded  at  Mr.  Pike’s  last  January ; 
Sarah  Benizette  had  the  same  food  as  the  rest  of  the  fami¬ 
ly  ;  she  used  to  eat  in  the  kitchen  with  the  other  girl ;  Mrs 
Pike  would  tell  her  if  she  had  not  enough  to  come  up  and 
she  would  give  her  some  more. 

Dr.  Cleaveland,  of  Topsfield — I  don’t  know  that  I  ever 
saw  this  girl  ;  Mr.  Pike  told  me  about  her  habits ;  as- 
safoetida  is  perfectly  harmless  ;  I  think  I  told  him  I  had 
known  it  to  be  given  with  good  effect.  I  should  think  her 
habits  would  affect  her  health,  as  cleanliness  is  essential  to 
health. 

Cross  examined — I  signed  the  certificate  ;  I  never  called 
as  a  physician  to  see  child  ;  Mr  Pike  called  more  than 
once  about  her;  I  had  advised  him  to  send  her  home. 


39 


Dr  Stone,  re-called — Her  habits  must  have  affected  her 
health,  and  would  naturally  produce  marasmus  ;  that  is, 
much  emaciation. 

Mrs  Howard,  re-called — I  frequently  told  my  neighbours, 
that  Mrs  Pike  was  good  to  me  and  my  child  in  making 
presents  of  little  articles  of  dress.  My  husband  told  me 
he  had  seen  Sarah  in  a  black  silk  gown,  and  I  supposed  she 
received  it  from  Mrs  Colby  ;  I  never  told  Mrs  Cushing  that 
the  child  wore  home  no  skirt ;  I  dont  know  that  I  mention¬ 
ed  the  skirt  to  her.  My  child  got  her  sore  eyes  at  school. 
(See  an  observation  in  Miss  French’s  testimony,  page  32.] 
They  were  so  sore  that  she  could  not  go  to  school,  and  when 
I  went  to  the  school  to  mention  it,  the  lady  that  kept  the 
school  told  me  that  the  eyes  of  a  great  many  of  her  scholars 
were  sore,  and  affected  in  the  same  way,  but  generally  not 
so  badly  ;  I  think  she  said  more  than  half  of  them  had  sore 
eyes.  At  first  I  used  to  urge  people  to  see  my  child’s  feet, 
and  would  show  them,  till  Dr.  Shattuck  advised  me  not  to 
do  so.  I  dont  remember  telling  Dr.  Shattuck  that  my  hus¬ 
band  died  of  a  scrofolous  consumption — I  have  said  he  went 
away  insane,  and  that  1  did  not  know  that  he  was  dead  only 
from  what  I  had  read  in  a  newspaper. 


Friday,  November  27. 

Mr.  Saltonstall  this  morning  entered  upon  the 
closing'  argument  for  the  defendants,  by  observing,  that 
it  was  a  subject  of  congratulation,  to  all  parties,  the  court, 
the  counsel,  and  the  jury,  that  the  termination  of  their  la¬ 
bours  approached,  though  he  was  not  aware  that  the  case 
had  taken  up  more  time  than  was  necessary,  considering 
its  great  importance.  Mr.  S.  then  proceeded  to  comment 
on  the  evidence  in  a  most  impressive  and  convincing  man¬ 
ner  ;  he  admitted,  that  Mr.  Pike,  the  plaintiff,  a  public 
teacher,  stood  well  in  the  community  until  this  difficulty 
but  that  it  was  his  misfortune,  by  his  own  conduct,  to  have 
exposed  himself  to  severe  remark.  He  would  contend 
that  the  charges  against  him  were  true,  and  that  the  de¬ 
fendants’  pleas  in  justification  had  been  substantially 
made  out.  Malice  was  essential  to  the  maintenance  of 
this  action,  and  the  jury  would  inquire  into  the  motives 
and  intention  of  the  defendants  in  visiting  the  scene  of 
excitement  in  Myrtle  street ;  and  if  the  jury  should  find 


40 


that  the  proof  did  not  come  up  to  the  strict  letter  of  the 
libel,  they  would  only  find  such  malice  as  the  law  it¬ 
self  presumes,  and  would  only  give  the  very  smallest 
amount  of  damages.  The  jury  would  perceive  by  reading 
the  article,  that  the  writer  claims  its  publication  for  the 
sake  of  humanity.  Mr.  S.  reminded  the  jury,  that  the 
child  behaved  well  till  after  she  had  been  at  Topsfield  7 
or  8  weeks,  when  she  unaccountably  obtained  a  most  ex¬ 
traordinary  victory  over  Mr.  Pike  and  all  his  family — ac¬ 
cording  to  the  testimony  of  the  members  of  the  family — 
she  obtained  this  victory  over  one,  whose  business  for  20 
years  has  been  to  control  and  govern,  and  suddenly  sunk 
into  the  lowest  degree  of  loathsomeness — whether  from 
physical  disease,  mental  aberration,  or  imbecility,  or  stern 
sullenness,  the  jury  would  determine  from  the  evidence. 
She  was  then  put  into  the  alms-house,  and  was  not  sent 
from  there  by  any  agency  of  the  plaintiff.  It  was  also 
proved,  that  all  the  time  the  child  was  at  the  plaintiffs, 
she  was  never  sent  to  church  or  sabbath  school,  and 
thus  her  mind  and  heart  were  deprived  of  their  proper 
aliment ;  and  to  deprive  a  child  of  her  tender  and  pecu¬ 
liar  age  of  all  advantages  for  the  formation  of  character 
was  as  great  cruelty,  as  to  furnish  her  with  indifferent  food. 
The  jury,  he  hoped,  would  bear  in  mind,  that  the  child 
was  not  eight  years  of  age  when  these  acts  of  neglect 
commenced.  Mr.  Saltonstall  considered  that  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  the  credibility  of  Mrs.  Howard,  the  child’s  mother, 
lay  at  the  foundation  of  the  case,  and  would  descend  to  that 
point  with  great  alacrity.  I  call  upon  you,  said  he  to  the 
jury,  to  say  if  she  be  notan  unimpeached  and  unimpeach¬ 
able  witness;  and  if  she  had  been  impeachable,  with 
what  pleasure  would  not  Miss  French  have  attempted  it 
to  aid  Mr.  Pike.  He  referred  to  the  testimony  of  Mrs. 
Colby,  that  the  child  was  honest,  cleanly,  and  amiable, 
but  lively  and  prattling — how  conspicuous,  too,  had  been 
the  frankness  of  the  mother.  All  the  witnesses  declared 
that  she  was  healthy  when  she  went  to  Mr.  Pike’s,  and 
the  change  in  her  habits  was  a  prodigy  that  could  not  be 
explained  by  any  supposition,  but  a  neglect  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Pike  or  his  family.  Unless  she  had  been  bound, 
it  would  have  been  his  duty  by  law,  to  have  returned  her 
to  her  parent,  without  any  contract  to  that  effect.  But 
there  was  an  express  contract,  that  if  the  child  was  sick, 
or  either  party  were  disatisfied,  she  was  to  be  sent 


home.  Even  had  she  been  all  they  describe  her,  it  would 
have  been  his  duty  to  have  taken  her  home,  in  a  chaise,  a 
wagon — aye,  a  scavenger’s  cart,  surrounded  with  guards  or 
police  officers.  But  long  before  there  is  any  complaint  of 
her  habits,  she  was  seen  by  many  witnesses  drawing  water 
at  the  pump  and  in  the  yard  exposed,  and  dirty — they  all 
paint  the  child  as  a  poor  neglected  thing,  worse  than  a 
Southern  slave,  and  then  when,  by  the  testimony  of  the 
physicians,  she  was  suffering  from  deep  disease,  in  her 
stomach  and  bowels,  he  tipped  her  over  into  the  alms¬ 
house  for  fear  she  would  die  upon  his  hands.  This  mat¬ 
ter  of  the  alms-house,  was  the  very  gist — the  very  marrow 
— the  head  and  front  of  this  charge  against  him.  He  did 
not  even  notify  her  mother  till  the  overseers  compelled 
him  by  their  refusal  to  keep  the  hapless  being  in  the  alms¬ 
house.  It  was  cruelty  to  put  her  in  the  alms-house,  even 
if  her  conduct  was  as  bad  as  stated  ;  she  was  but  a  child — - 
a  young  child — and  it  was  his  duty  to  have  guarded 
against  its  habits — it  should  have  been  treated  as  a  fatal 
malady  ;  and  if  he  found  he  could  not  check  her,  he  ought 
to  have  sent  her  home.  It  was  a  point  worthy  of  notice, 
that  neither  before  nor  since  that  time,  when  under  other 
hands,  nothing  of  the  kind  occurred,  and  even  in  the  alms¬ 
house,  where  at  least  she  had  a  comfortable  bed,  improve¬ 
ment  became  visible.  At  Pike’s,  sick  though  she  was, 
for  punishment,  she  was  deprived  of  her  meals,  of  meat, 
of  pie,  or  cake — cuffed,  slapped  and  beaten  with  a  rod,— 
and  confined  eighteen  hours  in  her  chamber,  without  fire  ; 
for  it  is  in  evidence,  that  she  was  kept  there  all  the  time 
the  boys  were  not  in  school.  They  say  she  looked  as 
pale  as  Samuel,  when  he  was  sick  and  had  the  doctor ; 
and  Mr.  Pike  ought  to  have  called  in  a  physician  to  see 
her,  and  ascertain  if  any  physical  difficulty  existed. 
The  child  must  have  suffered  the  greatest  agony,  before 
she  was  sent  to  the  alms-house,  said  Mr.  S,  with  the  chil¬ 
blains.  What  must  she  have  suffered  from  an  ulcer  that 
actually  destroyed  a  joint  of  a  toe  !  We  all  know  that 
mere  chapped  hands  will  sometimes  keep  grown  people 
awake  all  night ;  and  if  this  child  had  been  Mr.  Pike’s 
own,  it  would  have  been  laid  on  the  bed,  with  a  fire  in 
the  room,  and  nursed  and  attended.  Did  she  come  home 
properly  clothed  ?  Was  she  not  deeply  diseased  ?  The 
whole  evidence  proves  it.  It  is  true,  that  Miss  Hannah 
French,  contrary  to  all  the  Doctors,  by  her  superior 
6 


42 


shrewdness,  discovers  that  the  child  and  its  mother  are 
only  playing  a  part — by  her  deep  penetration  she  detects 
what  no  one  else  suspects.  Judge,  gentlemen,  if  her 
opinion  does  not  originate  in  a  desire  to  appear  wiser  and 
more  knowing  than  any  body  else.  You  saw  her  man¬ 
ner  on  the  stand,  and  I  have  no  doubt  you  marked  her 
testimony.  Her  conduct  and  openly  avowed  motives 
should  of  themselves  affect  her  credibility.  If  further 
evidence  of  her  feelings  be  wanting,  let  us  recollect  her 
gratuitous  insinuation,  that  the  child’s  sore  eyes  which 
we  have  witnessed  here,  were  produced  by  the  abuse  of 
her  mother. 

When  at  the  suggestion  of  Miss  French,  Dr.  Strong 
goes  there,  does  not  the  mother  at  once  consent  to  an  ex¬ 
amination.  He  tells  us  of  no  disguise. 

What  does  Dr.  Shattuck  say,  when  he  tells  you  he  went 
there  at  Mr.  Pike’s  request,  and  found  so  much  disorder 
in  the  very  seat  of  life,  that  he  paid  no  attention  to  her 
feet.  He  comes  on  to  the  stand  as  the  avowed  friend  of 
Mr  Pike,  and  if  he  had  not  avowed  it,  you  must  have  per¬ 
ceived  it,  but  he  came  on  to  the  stand,  too,  to  speak  the 
truth,  the  honest  truth,  unreservedly.  No.  Dr.  Shat¬ 
tuck,  who,  under  Providence,  was  the  means  of  saving  the 
child,  suspected  no  sham  ;  and  he  even  administered  to 
her  such  active  and  energetic  medicines  as  the  urgency  of 
the  case  demanded,  and  which,  from  their  powerful  char¬ 
acter,  must  have  destroyed  her  life  if  she  had  been  a  well 
child,  instead  of  being  reduced  to  the  last  stage  of  debili¬ 
ty;  and  when  the  question  is  directly  put  to  Dr.  Jackson, 
he  replies  “that  she  was  altogether  too  sick  to  play  a 
part.”  Mr.  S.  reviewed  at  length  the  medical  testimony, 
and  put  it  to  the  jury,  whether,  in  the  very  language  of 
the  libel,  the  child  was  not  “reduced  to  the  lowest  state 
of  wretchedness.”  Passing  somewhat  cursorily  over  the 
other  parts  of  the  evidence,  he  adverted  to  the  charge  of 
“brutal  cruelty,”  again. — He  contended  that  trie  charge 
was  true  to  the  letter  :  In  the  first  place,  taking  no  ac¬ 
count  of  other  punishments,  is  it  not  proved,  and  not  at¬ 
tempted  to  be  denied,  that  he  compelled  the  child  to  take 
assafoetida,  the  most  nauseous  of  all  substances  except  one, 
which  he  afterwards  administered,  and  as  he  says,  without 
her  wincing  What  does  this  fact,  so  disgusting,  so  re¬ 
volting,  prove,  but  her  entire  submissiveness — that  she 
had  no  power,  no  hope  of  resistance  ;  yes,  her  taking  it 


43 


only  proves  how  entirely  she  was  broken  down,  in  body 
and  mind,  by  a  long  course  of  cold  and  blighting  neglect 
This  fact  alone,  said  Mr.  Saltonstall,  would  justify  the 
whole  libel.  It  is  impossible  to  foresee  what  may  be  said 
on  the  other  side;  they  may  tell  you  of  his  good  charac¬ 
ter,  his  unblemished  reputation,  his  standing  in  society, 
and  the  feelings  of  his  family  ;  but  I  would  ask,  what 
damages  are  due  to  i\xefeel\ngs  of  a  man  who  could  make 
a  child  eat  her  own  excrement?  But,  gentlemen,  before 
you  think  of  giving  damages,  you  will  look  into  the  heart 
of  the  defendant  for  his  motive.  What  motive  could  he 
have  had  but  of  humanity— of  duty — to  do  as  he  has  done  ? 
Was  it  not  one  of  the  cases  in  which  the  press  should  have 
spoken  in  a  voice  of  thunder  ? 

Mr.  Saltonstall' s  argument  occupied  about  two  hours, 
and  profoundly  engaged  the  attention,  of  the  Court,  the 
jury,  and  a  deeply  interested  audience  during  the  whole 
period  of  its  delivery  As  soon  as  he  closed,  he  was  im¬ 
mediately  followed  by 

Mr.  Choate,  who  commenced  his  closing  argument 
for  the  plaintiff,  by  observing  to  the  jury — “all  your  ver¬ 
dicts,  gentlemen,  during  the  present  term — all  the  cases 
you  have  tried  and  all  the  justice  you  have  dispensed,  are 
of  no  importance  compared  with  the  justice  which  now  re¬ 
mains  to  be  done  to  this  deeply  injured  man,  who  has 
been  so  remorselessly  assailed  through  the  columns  of 
one  of  the  keenest  and  most  widely  circulated  journals  in 
the  country  ;  and  the  same  foul  charges,  and  false,  have 
been  re-written  on  the  Records  of  this  Court,  by  the  pleas, 
seven  times  over,  and  will  there  outlive  even  the  Morn¬ 
ing  Post.  To  the  plaintiff  it  was  a  case  of  life  and  death. 
Mr.  Choate  was  willing  to  admit  that  the  plaintiff  had 
nade  two  or  three  mistakes,  but  the  evidence  entirely 
failed  to  make  out  a  single  act  of  cruelty.  Yet  cruelty — 
“  brutal  cruelty” — is  the  general  charge  ;  and  to  say  that 
these  mistakes,  which  no  man  more  than  the  plaintiff 
himself  regrets,  amount  to  such  cruelty,  is  a  deadly  and 
ferocious  libel,  and  wherever  it  is  read  and  believed,  my 
client’s  occupation  is  gone  ;  for  a  parent,  who  shall  be¬ 
lieve  him  guilty  of  the  acts  charged,  would  sooner  send 
his  son  into  the  forecastle  of  a  Portuguese  slaver ,  than  en¬ 
trust  him  with  Mr.  Pike  ;  or  he  would  strive  to  rescue  a 
daughter  from  his  grasp, as  desperately  as  he  would  strug¬ 
gle  to  rescue  her  from  an  Indian  captivity.  He  is  charged 


44 


with  keeping  the  child  for  five  long  months  on  lndiail 
meal — if  true,  his  conduct  is  low,  blackguard,  lousy,  and 
beggarly  ;  but  there  is  not  a  line  of  evidence,  that  she 
was  not  well  fed.  It  is  said  she  was  compelled  to  sleep 
on  a  straw  bed,  without  covering,  till  her  hands  and  feet 
were  frozen  :  What  becomes  of  the  man  of  whom  this  i9 
believed  in  the  County  of  Essex  ?  Mr.  Choate  contend¬ 
ed  that  the  article  was  false  to  the  letter,  and  false  in 
spirit ;  because  it  gave  no  intimation  to  the  reader  that 
the  girl  wras  a  prodigy  in  character.  This  omission  was 
of  itself  a  great  falsehood.  Not  a  reader  of  the  paper 
could  ever  have  imagined  the  unheard  of  situation  of  Mr. 
Pike  and  his  family.  It  is  said  she  slept  on  straw  :  why  not 
tell  the  reason  why  it  was  necessary  for  her  to  sleep  there  ? 
Mr.  Choate  dwelt  at  length  upon  this  point,  and  contrast¬ 
ed  the  evidence  for  the  plaintiff  and  the  defendants  re¬ 
specting  the  treatment  of  the  child  during  the  early  part 
of  her  residence  in  Mr.  Pike’s  family.  He  observed, that 
he  believed  that  all  the  witnesses,  except  Sarah  Phillips 
and  the  washerwoman,  intended  to  tell  the  truth,  though 
they  might  labor  under  some  natural  bias  ;  but  those  two 
Were  the  only  w  itnesses  who  had  sworn  to  falsehood  de¬ 
signedly.  1  thought,  said  he,  that  she  fainted  soon  after 
saying  she  saw  the  child’s  toes  out,  and  not  after  the 
question  respecting  her  unfortunate  mother’s  death.  Mr* 
Choate  abandoned  entirely  the  ground,  that  the  child  had 
been  playing  a  part,  and  did  not  attempt  to  explain,  or 
even  once  advert  to  the  testimony  of  Miss  French  on 
that  topic,  although  in  an  earlier  stage  of  the  trial,  he 
gave  notice  that  he  should  argue  the  cause  to  the  jury  on 
that  ground.  With  respect  to  sending  the  child  to  the 
alms-house,  and  not  home  to  its  mother,  he  admitted  that 
the  plaintiff  could  not  sustain  himself  in  an  action  on  the 
contract,  yet  knowiug  as  he  did,  the  extreme  poverty  of 
Mrs.  Howard,  and  that  she  was  about  to  be  confined,  he 
might  see  in  that  circumstance  a  powerful  and  humane 
motive  for  putting  her  into  the  alms-house,  rather  than 
sending  her  home.  He  must  have  remembered  Mrs. 
Howard’s  declarations,  that  her  husband  never  expected 
to  have  to  maintain  this  child  ;  that  she  W'as  not  at  home 
when  she  married  him,  and  that  she  was  for  this  reason, 
and  her  bad  temper,  for  that  was  the  character  she  re¬ 
ceived  from  her  mother — and  think  what  a  child  she  must 
have  been  to  have  wrung  such  a  character  from  a  fond 


45 


toother’s  heart — such  a  mother  too,  as  We  have  seeti  her 
to  be — and  for  this  reason,  she  was  the  cause  of  great  do¬ 
mestic  difficulty.  To  keep  her  in  his  own  house  longer, 
Was  impossible ;  and  he  thought  that  a  husband,  poor  as 
Mr.  Howard  is  allowed  to  be,  and  rendered  fretful  by  a 
new  charge  of  his  own,  might  be  still  farther  exasperated 
by  an  additional  burthen  that  had  already  rendered  herself 
disagreeable  to  him.  I  admit,  gentlemen,  that  the  con¬ 
tract  to  send  her  home  was  binding  on  Mr.  Pike  ;  but  I 
do  verily  believe  that  he  was  actuated  by  the  purest  mo¬ 
tives  that  ever  prompted  man,  in  not  sending  her  there. 
Mr  Choate  considered  that  the  medical  testimony  in  the 
case  negatived  the  inference  that  her  condition  was  the 
result  of  any  harsh  treatment  she  had  received — not  one 
of  the  doctors,  said  he,  could  infer  from  the  mere  appear¬ 
ances  only,  that  it  was  a  case  of  neglect  and  cruelty.  It 
was  proved  that  she  had  a  scrofulous  temperament,  and 
that  fact  was  sufficient  to  p.oducethe  emaciated  condition 
to  which  she  was  reduced.  Every  thing  about  the  case 
was  infelicitous  and  calamitous  in  the  extreme.  Mr.  Pike 
and  his  family  thought  she  was  stubborn,  sullen,  and  not 
ill,  from  the  circumstance  of  her  great  appetite;  for  it  was 
in  evidence  that  when  Mrs.  Pike  thought  she  was  sick  she 
medicated  her.  In  this  point  of  view,  two  other  certain¬ 
ly  unpleasant  facts  in  the  case,  which  have  been  made  to 
assume  great  importance  in  the  pleas  and  arguments,  ad¬ 
mit  of  some  excuse,  if  not  entire  justification.  He  allud¬ 
ed  to  the  substances  Mr.  Pike  made  her  put  in  her  mouth. 
The  assafcetida  was  undoubtedly  administered  as  a  discip¬ 
linary  measure — to  effect  a  moral  reform — to  conquer  the 
will — for  they  did  not  attribute  her  conduct  to  disease, 
which  it  is  now  useless  to  deny  probably  existed.  With 
regard  to  the  other  matter,  the  jury  would  hesitate  before 
they  wonld  convict  the  plaintiff  of  the  whole  libel,  for 
that  one  ill-advised  act  The  jury  would  look  at  the 
plaintiff’s  situation — tried  in  a  way  no  mortal  man  was 
ever  tried  before — they  would  remember  his  threat  to  do 
it,  and  her  continued  contumacy,  as  he  supposed — and, 
under  such  circumstance,  see  some  considerations  to  mit¬ 
igate  the  act.  They  surely  will  not  drive  him  out  of  the 
World — outlaw  him — for  one  injudicious  act ;  for  that 
must  be  the  effect  of  a  verdict  which  says  the  charges  in 
the  libel  are  true. 


46 


Believing,  the  defendants  had  entirely  failed  in  their 
justification,  and  that  the  plaintiff’s  case  was  established 
beyond  a  doubt,  Mr.  Choate  adverted  to  the  damages, 
which  he  had  a  right  to  expect  ;  and  it  was  fortunate,  he 
said,  that  the  defendants  could  pay  even  the  entire  sum 
claimed.*  To  estimate  the  extent  of  injury  sustained  by- 
Mr.  Pike,  it  must  be  recollected,  that  the  Post  was  a 
leading  political  paper,  at  the  head  of  its  class,  and  cir¬ 
culated  all  over  the  country  ;  that  on  account  of  its  wit 
and  the  general  ability  with  which  it  was  conducted,  it 
was  sought  after  and  read  by  many  who  did  not  subscribe 
to  its  political  doctrines;  and  that  in  its  matters  of  gen¬ 
eral  intelligence,  and  in  its  criticisms,  it  was  considered 
as  speaking  upon  its  honor  and  authoritatively,  and  was 
therefore  fully  credited,  aside  from  its  political  views.  It 
should  be  recollected,  that  in  this  instance,  they  had  step¬ 
ped  aside  from  their  main  business  as  political  partizans, 
to  attack  the  plaintiff,  a  private  citizen,  and  exercising  a 
private  calling.  He  would  have  the  press  pour  forth  its 
blasts  as  free  as  the  mountain  storm  on  political  men  ; 
but  there  he  would  have  its  licentiousness  stop.  He 
would  not  in  the  present  case  go  for  express  malice,  but 
for  gross  carelessness  in  the  use  of  a  great  instrument — 
a  precipitate  movement  on  the  part  of  the  defendants  that 
was  death  to  the  plaintiff. 

[Mr.  Choate’s  argument  occupied  about  five  hours  in 
the  delivery,  and  was  distinguished  throughout  by  great 
ingenuity,  and  presented  every  fact  in  the  case  favorable 
to  the  plaintiff  in  the  strongest  possible  light.  His  prin¬ 
cipal  object  was  to  satisfy  the  jury  that  the  circum¬ 
stances  proved  by  the  defendants,  in  justification,  did  not 
meet  the  issue  presented  in  the  libel,  and  the  plaintiff 
therefore  stood  upon  the  law,  which  protected  him  as 
much  as  it  did  any  other  citizen,  notwithstanding  the  facts 


*  On  Tuesday,  Mr.  James  L.  Homer ,  summoned  by  the  plain¬ 
tiff,  to  give  evidence  respecting  the  property  of  the  defendants, 
testified,  that  Mr.  Beals  had  formerly  been  his  partner,  in  pub¬ 
lishing  the  Boston  Commercial  Gazette,  and  he  was  of  opinion, 
that  Mr.  Beals  was  worth  from  ten  to  fifteen  thousand  dollars. 
Mr.  Homer  said  he  did  not  know  anything  about  Mr.  Greene’s 
property,  but  he  lived  like  a  gentleman.  Mr.  Homer  also  said 
that  “  that  every  printer  in  Boston  had  a  right  to  live  in  good 
style.” 


47 


that  had  been  proved  against  him.  He  came  to  court,  he 
said,  to  try  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  the  charges  contained 
in  the  libel,  and  nothing  else.] 

Saturday ,  November  28. 

His  Honor,  Judge  Putnam,  after  settling  some  points  of 
law,  which  had  been  referred  to  by  Messrs.  Choate  and  Sal- 
tonstall  upon  the  opening  of  the  Court,  remarked  generally, 
that  the  whole  evidence  was  open  to  the  jury,  with  respect  to 
the  damages,  even  if  the  defendants  did  not  fully  make  out 
their  pleas  in  justification.  His  Honor  then  proceeded  to  charge 
the  jury  substantially  to  the  following  effect:  It  is,  he  said, 
one  of  the  most  interesting  causes  that  has  been  brought  in  the 
county  for  many  years,  and  has  been  presented  to  you,  gentle¬ 
men,  very  ably  by  the  counsel  on  both  sides  ;  and  it  is  now  our 
duty  to  endeavor  to  do  justice  to  the  parties — to  render  them 
the  same  justice  we  ourselves  should  expect  it  similarly  situ¬ 
ated.  You  have  been  told  that  the  defendants  have  stepped 
aside  from  their  ordinarv  business  to  publish  a  grave,  but  false 
charge  against  the  plaintiff',  Mr.  Pike,  and  that  the  result  must 
be  ruinous  to  his  reputation,  and  he  therefore  comes  into  this 
Court  to  obtain  the  only  redress  that  can  be  had.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  defendants  say  it  was  their  duty  to  publish  the  truth, 
for  the  cause  of  humanity,  and  that  they  only  have  endeavored 
to  do  so,  and  in  fact  have  only  done  so.  Gentlemen,  the  charge 
is  that  the  defendants  have  published  a  libel,  imputing  criminal, 
or  at  least  unworthy  conduct  to  the  plaintiff  for  which  he  ought 
to  recover  damages  ;  and  the  defendants  come  into  court  and 
say  the  plaintiff  ought  not  to  recover,  because  he  did  certain 
acts  set  forth  in  the  pleas  of  justification.  Now,  if  you  find 
that  the  reasons  set  forth  in  the  pleas  are  not  proved,  then  the 
verdict  must  be  for  the  plaintiff;  but  before  you  come  to  the  ques¬ 
tion  of  damages,  you  must  say  the  defendants  are  guilty  of  this 
libel.  Then  the  question  is,  how  much  damages — should  you 
ever  arrive  at  the  conclusion  to  give  any  damages  at  all — how 
much  damages  ought  to  be  given,  upon  the  whole  matter  in  evi¬ 
dence.  The  question  of  damages  must  be  upon  the  whole 
matter — you  must  take  the  evidence  on  the  justification  alto¬ 
gether.  You  must  go  into  the  question  of  the  malice — whether 
slight  or  gross  ;  and  ascertain  what  will  compensate,  in  justice 
and  reason,  the  legal  wrong  committed.  You  have  nothing  to 
do  with  the  feelings  of  either  party — -however  sore  either  may 
feel,  it  is  nothing  to  the  jury  “  Brutal  cruelty,”  is  the  charge — 
the  nature  and  meaning  of  the  charge  is  extreme  cruelty,  to 
meet  which  it  is  not  necessary,  for  instance,  for  the  defendants 
to  prove  that  the  plaintiff*  kicked  the  little  girl  down  stairs,  or 
did  any  other  violent  act,  for  great  neglect  may  amount  to  great 
cruelty,  which  we  all  know,  may  be  practiced  in  various  ways. 


48 


His  Honor  said  he  considered  the  two  great  questions  in  the 
case  to  be.  What  was  the  condition  of  the  child  when  it  caine 
into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Pike,  and  when  she  came  out  ?  You  ought 
to  settle  in  your  minds,  the  terms  upon  which  she  came  into  his 
hands,  and  what  the  conduct  of  the  family  to  the  child  was,  and 
whether  that  conduct  were  agreeably  to  those  terms'?  How  she 
was  when  she  came,  how  she  was  when  she  left,  are  the  two 
great  points,  which  I  shall  notice,  and  I  shall  leave  you,  gentle¬ 
men,  to  fill  up,  from  the  evidence,  the  intermediate  condition 
of  the  child,  yourselves  The  application  for  a  child  was  made 
by  Miss  Pike,  for  her  mother,  to  Mrs.  Colby,  w'ho  referred  her 
to  Mrs.  Howard,  the  mother  of  this  child,  whose  husband  was 
poor,  and  did  not  feel  able  to  support  it.  The  child  had  been 
living  with  Mrs.  Colby,  who  gave  her  work  to  do,  and  she  did 
it  neatly,  and  was  particular  not  to  soil  her  clothes — she  was 
clean  when  she  went  to  Mrs.  Colby’s,  and  her  mother  made  her 
so.  The  character  of  the  child’s  mother  is  material  in  this  case, 
and  her  conduct  very  remarkable,  if  she  was  playing  a  part,  for 
she  voluntarily  says  to  Mrs.  Colby — “  I  will  not  deceive  you — 
she  is  a  very  bad  child — her  word  is  not  always  to  be  taken.” 
In  consequence  of  this  declaration  by  the  mother,  Mrs.  Colby 
tempts  the  child’s  honesty,  and  I  should  think,  rather  severely  ; 
and  it  seems  to  me  to  an  extent  somewhat  doubtful  ;  tor  we  are 
taught  to  pray — “  Lead  us  not  into  temptation.”  I  should 
doubt  very  much  the  expediency  of  tempting  so  young  a  child 
so,  but  yet  we  see  that  she  took  nothing.  Mrs.  Colby  describ¬ 
ed  the  child  to  Mrs.  Pike  as  requiring  gentle  treatment.  Mrs. 
Colby  says  she  herself  did  pretty  much  all  the  talking,  but  the 
mother  said,  that  if  her  child  became  sick,  or  there  was  any 
dissatisfaction,  she  wished  her  sent  home.  Mrs.  Davis  testifies 
to  the  same  point.  The  child  was  to  be  brought  up  the  same  as 
Mr.  Pike’s  own  children,  and  so  as  to  be  able  to  get  its  own  liv¬ 
ing.  Theie  can  be  no  doubt  as  to  the  terms  upon  which  the 
child  was  received.  As  to  her  health  at  that  time,  she  was  not 
a  robust,  but  what  might  be  considered  a  healthy  child,  but  had 
been  afflicted  with  chilblains;  but  was  well  then.  Well,  then, 
what  was  her  condition  when  she  was  returned  ?  Let  us  not 
look  at  the  facts  as  they  are  presented  and  mixed  up  with  the 
eloquence  and  arguments  of  counsel,  but  let  us  sink  down  to  the 
naked  facts.  What  was  her  condition  when  she  returned  ? 
You  heard  what  Mrs.  Colby  said — a  fortnight  after  she  returned, 
Mrs  Colby  hardly  thought  she  could  live.  Mrs.  Howard  tells 
you  that  she  was  so  thin,  the  hip  bone  had  wore  through  the  skin, 
and  produced  a  little  sore — that  she  was  very  costive,  but  had  a 
great  appetite.  Dr.  Flint  says — '•  I  have  no  means  for  deciding 
whether  the  feet  had  been  affected  by  frost  or  chilblains,  and 
that  one  joint  of  the  little  toe  was  gone.  Dr.  Jackson  thought 
that  she  was  laboring  under  an  organic  disease,  and  was  too 


49 


sick  to  be  playing  a  part.  In  this  matter,  the  opinions  of  phy¬ 
sicians  ought  to  have  vast  weight,  passing  over  the  opinions  of 
individuals  who  have  spoken  of  her  condition.  I  call  your  at¬ 
tention  particularly  to  Dr.  Shattuck,  who  was  called  by  the 
plaintiff.  I  think  it  a  matter  of  no  consequence  who  called 
him — whether  plaintiff  or  defendant — every  body  can  see  that 
he  is  disposed  to  give  you  the  truth.  He  thought  Mr.  Pike  had 
been  abused,  and  he  went  to  see  the  child.  He  found  her  deep¬ 
ly  sick,  he  says.  There  was  deep  disease  requiring  active  rem¬ 
edies,  and  expensive  ones.  He  did  not  regard  the  loss  of  the 
toe  as  a  drop  in  the  bucket  compared  with  the  internal  disease. 
She  had  an  irritable  stomach — deep  chronic  disease  in  the  ab¬ 
dominal  viscera.  The  opinion  of  such  a  man  as  Shattuck  is 
worth  more  than  the  opinions  of  a  thousand  people,  who  only 
judge  from  external  appearances. 

The  next  question  is — Did  Pike,  or  did  he  not,  pay  proper 
attention  to  the  child  ?  Has  he,  or  has  he  not,  been  guilty  of 
neglect  and  inattention.  These  questions,  gentlemen,  are  for 
you  to  decide.  Was  it  for  him  to  know,  or  not,  that  she  was 
sick  ?  She  was  in  his  care  : — Was  there  nobody  in  Topsfield 
who  could  tell  whether  she  was  sick,  or  sullen  ?  Was  there  no 
physician  that  he  could  have  called  in  to  examine  her  ?  For 
nearly  five  months  she  lived  with  him,  before  there  was  any  dif¬ 
ficulty — the  night  of  the  7th  of  February  was  the  first  time  she 
fouled  the  bed ;  after  that  time  her  conduct  was  certainly  un¬ 
accountable  and  extraordinary.  Whether  it  was  the  result  of 
wilfulness,  or  disease,  or  insanity,  the  jury  must  judge.  You 
will  remember,  gentlemen,  that  her  father  ran  away  insane,  and 
is  it  impossible  that  her  mind  should  be  somewhat  affected  also— 
insanity  displays  itself  under  a  thousand  forms.  This  was 
in  the  winter  be  it  remembered.  What  should  Mr,  Pike  have 
done  in  his  excessively  difficult  situation,  supposing  her  to  be 
sullen  ?  What  should  he  have  done,  putting  down  every  thing 
that  has  been  said  against  her  as  true — admitting  that  she  was 
wilful  ?  Nobody  would  complain  of  the  rod  being  used,  or  does 
complain ;  but  humanity  and  the  law  will  not  permit  a  punish¬ 
ment,  that  will  endanger  the  health,  or  degrade  the  character  of 
the  child — a  punishment  that  may  bring  on  disease.  Suppose 
she  was  as  bad,  as  you  can  conceive  a  child  to  be,  was  it,  or  was 
it  not,  a  discreet  punishment  to  send  her  up  into  a  cold  room  to 
sit  alone  from  hour  to  hour,  on  such  a  morning  as  the  present  for 
instance,  when  the  ground  and  the  tops  of  our  houses  are  cov¬ 
ered  with  snow  ?  Was  that  a  proper  punishment,  or  not  ?— 
The  evidence  is  that  she  was  so  kept  for  u  considerable  time — - 
when  the  boarders  were  in,  she  was  up',  and  if  she  was  not  fro¬ 
zen,  she  must  have  been  chilled.  Gentlemen,  take  this  case 
home  to  yourselves — try  the  case,  as  if  it  was  your  own  child. 
See  if  this  be  a  proper  punishment,  or  cruelty.  You  are  the 
7 


50 


judges,  if  this  be  cruel  or  proper.  The  plaintiff  may  think  it 
proper,  but  you  are  to  decide  that  question — not  he.  I  think 
this  view  of  the  case  of  considerable  importance. 

On  the  other  point,  if  you  believe  that  she  was  then  afflicted 
with  the  internal  disease,  which  was  upon  her  when  she  return¬ 
ed  home,  and  that  that  disease  produced  a  morbid  state  of  mind, 
which  rendered  her  unable  to  take  care  of  herself,  and  preserve 
herself  clean,  what  should  Mr.  Pike  have  done  ?  And  here 
comes  in  the  contract :  If  he  became  dissatisfied,  he  was  to 
bring  her  home.  They  say  that  they  attempted  to  reclaim  her, 
and  did  not  send  her  back  to  her  mother  on  account  of  her 
mother’s  poverty ;  that  they  kept  her  out  of  charity  to  the 
mother.  But  in  connection  with  this  charitable  consideration 
for  the  condition  of  the  mother,  you  will  recollect  Mr.  Pike’s  de¬ 
claration  about  the  child — “  Destitute  she  came,  and  destitute 
she  shall  return.”  Mr.  Pike  must  have  had  an  opinion,  that 
she  was  diseased,  for  he  said  to  the  overseer  of  the  Aim-House, 
“  I  am  afraid  she  will  die  on  my  hands.”  Was  this  putting1 
her  in  the  Aim-House,  a  fulfilment  of  the  terms  upon  which  he 
took  her  ?  Was  the  mother  or  Mr.  Pike  to  be  the  judge  of  the 
comfort  of  the  mother’s  home  ?  What  says  the  mother  ? — 
“  Bring  my  child  home  if  she  is  sick  ”  The  mother  knew,  that 
in  Boston,  if  she  was  poor,  and  could  not  provide  for  her  sick 
child,  that  she  had  only  to  make  her  wants  known,  and  relief 
could  be  instantly  obtained.  In  Boston,  there  are  ever  to  be 
found  persons  like  Mrs.  Colby,  prompt  to  afford  relief  to  dis¬ 
tress,  whenever  they  are  apprised  of  its  existence.  In  Boston, 
an  honest  but  humble  family,  can  always  obtain  relief  in  sick¬ 
ness,  if  they  will  only  let  their  distress  be  known.  Whenever 
they  can  step  over  their  pride,  and  disclose  their  humble  state, 
there  is  no  place  in  the  world  where  they  will  receive  prompter 
assistance,  than  in  Boston.  That  she  could  be  taken  care  of — 
good  care — at  her  mother’s,  is  proved  by  the  fact  that  she  was 
taken  good  care  of,  after  she  returned.  Dr.  Shattuck  tells  you 
she  required  the  most  expensive  medicines,  and  she  had  them, 
but  how  they  were  furnished,  or  who  furnished  them,  we  dont 
know — only  we  know  they  were  not  provided  by  the  mother, 
being  beyond  her  means.  Mr.  Pike  then  did  not  fulfil  the 
bargain,  and  there  was  no  reason,  why  he  should  not. 

The  child  complained  before  she  left  Mr.  Pike’s  and  while  a 
the  Alms-House,  though  she  would  play  a  little,  and  had  an 
appetite. — Would  she  have  complained,  if  she  was  not  sick  ? 
When  you  get  her  down  to  Boston,  before  Dr.  Shattuck,  you 
find  out  the  whole  truth.  You  must  judge  whether,  if  she 
was  sick,  at  that  time,  she  was  treated  as  you  would  have  a 
child  treated,  or  Mr.  Pike  would  have  treated  a  child  of  his 
own.  In  deliberating  upon  this  whole  case,  you  are  to  take  all 
the  evidence,  having  reference  to  the  conduct  of  both  the 


51 


plaintiff  and  the  defendants;  and  it  is  desirable,  to  avoid 
further  litigation  between  the  parties,  that  you  should  agree  on 
a  verdict  of  some  kind.  If  you  find  that  the  justifications  are 
made  out,  you  will  find  for  the  defendants,  but  if  you  think 
they  are  not  made  out,  you  wll  find  for  the  plaintiff—  but  then 
the  range  of  damages  is  very  great  and  entirely  with  you— you 
can  range  from  the  smallest  possible  sum  up  to  the  ten  thousand 
dollars.  His  honor  expressed  a  hope  that  no  juror  would,  at  once, 
come  to  a  conclusion  not  to  give  Mr,  Pike  a  copper,  because  some 
unfavorable  circumstances  appeared  against  him  in  the  evidence ; 
and  On  the  other  hand,  he  hoped  that  no  juror  would  retire  with  a 
fixed  determination  to  give  the  highest  damages,  because  the  defen¬ 
dants  had  failed  to  prove  every  thing  they  had  alleged  in  the  pleas 
in  justification.  On  the  contrary,  he  would  recommend  to  the  jury 
to  deliberate  together  upon  the  whole  matter,  and  with  the  single 
object  of  rendering  strict  justice  to  both  parties. 

The  law  in  such  a  case  as  the  present  implies  malice,  but  here 
there  is  no  pretence  of  express  malice,  but  then  printers  must 
be  careful.  The  defendants  are  the  publishers  of  a  newspaper, 
and  it  is  there  duty  to  print  whatever  tends  to  the  public  good, 
if  true ,  whether  it  relates  to  political  or  private  persons.  I  do 
not  agree  with  my  friend  Mr.  Choate,  that  they  ought  to  be  at 
liberty  to  publish  falsehood  even  about  political  men— the  truth 
for  me,  and  gentlemen  I  believe  that  you  also  prefer  the  truth, 
even  in  politics.  The  duty  of  printers  is  an  exceedingly  diffi¬ 
cult  one  to  perform,  and  they  ought  to  be  extremely  cautious, 
but  to  rebut  express  malice,  it  is  enough  for  them  to  show  that 
they  have  used  reasonable  care.  I  consider  the  fact  of  the 
child’s  having  been  exposed,  as  being  established.  It  could  not 
have  been  from  kindness,  that  they  sent  her  into  a  cellar,  after 
sitting  in  ftcpld  chamber  all  day.  There  is  no  proof  but  what 
she  had  a  ■Bficient  supply  of  food — there  appears  to  be  no  diffi¬ 
culty  upon  that  point — the  charge  about  the  Indian  meal 
and  water  is  not  made  out. — It  is  well  known  to  medical  men, 
that  because  there  is  a  great  appetite,  it  does  not  follow  that 
therefore  there  is  health  ;  and  that  great  eating  does  not  ne¬ 
cessarily  nourish,  when  the  system  is  deranged.  How  far  being 
so  deeply  diseased  that  food  freely  partaken  of  ceased  to  nourish, 
was  to  be  “  reduced  to  the  lowest  state  of  wretchedness,”  the  jury 
would  consider. 

If  I  were  a  juror,  I  should  lay  down  some  stakes  to  guide 
me  in  this  case — there  are  some  unquestionable  facts  in  the  case, 
that  are  not  denied.  It  was  unpleasant  to  remark  upon  the 
manner  of  witnesses,  but  the  jury  would  remember  one  who 
testified  that  she  thought  the  child  was  counterfeiting,  and  they 
would  also  recollect  Dr.  Jackson’s  answer  when  the  question 
was  particularly  put  to  him. 

It  has  been  contended  that  the  second  publication  was  more 


62 


libellous  than  the  first — the  jury  will  consider  under  whst  cir¬ 
cumstances  that  article  appeared,  and  give  the  defendant  credit 
for  what  he  did  do — for  his  going  to  see  the  child  before  he 
published  it.  He  is  entitled  to  the  benefit  of  this  act  of  precau¬ 
tion.  The  question  is  asked,  why  the  defendants  do  not  put 
the  child  on  the  stand  as  a  witness  ?  That,  gentlemen,  is  im¬ 
possible:  they  cannot  put  on  to  the  stand  the  child  that  Mr. 
Greene  saw — low,  emaciated,  at  the  point  of  death.  They  can 
put  on  to  the  stand  a  lively,  healthy  child — not  the  child  that 
Dr.  Shattuck  saw  and  described.  The  defendants  rest  their 
case  on  the  weight  of  evidence  arising  from  her  then  condition. 
She  was  free  for  the  plaintiff  to  call ;  it  is  true,  that  he  would 
not  have  been  at  liberty  after  calling  her.to  impeach  her  general 
character,  but  he  might  have  contradicted  her  upon  any  particu¬ 
lar  fact.  There  are  two  circumstances  in  the  case,  gentlemen, 
that  1  cannot  allude  to  with  any  degree  of  satisfaction — the  assa- 
fcetida  and  the  excrement : — with  regard  to  the  assafcetida, 
there  may,  perhaps,  be  different  opinions,  considering  the  situa¬ 
tion  in  which  the  plaintiff  was  placed.  As  to  the  other,  I  can 
say  nothing;  but  you  must  always  bear  in  mind,  that  she  was 
but  a  child. 


The  impartial  design  of  giving  the  testimony  in  this  remark¬ 
able  cause,  with  considerable  minuteness,  having  increased  the 
size  of  the  pamphlet  much  beyond  our  original  expectations,  has 
necessarily  compelled  the  Reporter  to  condense  Judge  Put¬ 
nam’s  lucid  and  practical  charge  to  the  Jury,  but  he  believes 
that  the  preceding  outline  embraces  the  material  points  en¬ 
larged  upon  by  His  Honor.  The  same  explanation  is  due  to  the 
eminent  counsel  who  were  engaged  in  the  cause,  for  the  ex¬ 
tremely  brief  sketches  of  their  able  arguments  which  are  given 
in  this  Report. 

The  cause  was  committed  to  the  Jury  about  half  past  eleven, 
and  in  an  hour  they  sent  notice  to  Judge  Putnam,  that  they 
had  agreed  upon  a  verdict.  At  half  past  two,  they  came  into 
Court  and  returned  a  verdict  for  the  Plaintiff,  giving  One 
Dollar  Damages.  The  legal  effect  of  this  verdict  throws  the 
costs  of  Court  on  to  the  Plaintiff,  with  the  exception  of  twenty- 
five  cents. 


•  o 


lo,'l 


-Crol5 .  '  ^ 


